Where Hope Begins

Title: Where Hope Begins

Author: Catherine West

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Publishing Date: May 22, 2018

Length: 368 pages

About the Book:

In the aftermath of her husband’s act of adultery and abandonment, Savannah must finally face the ghosts that haunt her and discover for herself whether authentic faith, grace, and ultimate healing really do exist.

When her husband of twenty-one years leaves her, Savannah Barrington believes she’s lost almost everything she’s ever loved. With her daughter in college and her son in boarding school, Savannah retreats to her parents’ lake house in the Berkshires, where hope and healing come in the form of an old woman’s wisdom, a little girl’s laughter, a touch of magic, and a handsome man who’s willing to risk his own heart to prove she’s still worth loving.

But when her husband asks to reconcile, Savannah is faced with the hardest challenge of all: Forgiving the unforgivable. Somehow she must find freedom from the chains of their past and move forward, or face an unknown future without him.

My Review:

Where Hope Begins is a story that will capture your heart and hold it hostage until the very end. Savannah’s journey becomes your own as she wrestles over the ability for her marriage to be saved or not. While tensions run high, your emotions are sure to take a number of hits throughout the read.

Raw and heart-wrenching, one thing that I really appreciated about this novel was that it was unpredictable. Catherine West plays tug-of-war with the readers’ emotions as to whether or not Savannah’s marriage will be able to be reconciled or not. She doesn’t shy away from the deepest, most painful emotions that one would face in Savannah’s position. She takes the readers deep into the trenches of absolute heartbreak. This novel was an emotional rollercoaster for sure.

Without spoiling on any specific content, the one piece of this story that I greatly struggled with was Maysie’s guardian angel. I recognize that many people find comfort in belief in them, but I think it’s more important to be focused on Christ. There were also other reasons I struggled with it but I’m not sure I could reveal them without spoiling.

With a first line of “my husband is leaving me,” it’s no wonder that this novel instantly sucks you in. But how the author is able to hold that attention is what makes this piece truly remarkable. This was my first read by Catherine West but I’m sure it won’t be my last.

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.

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