Author: James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Published: September 26th 2016 by Little, Brown and Company
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Genre: Fiction
Source: My thanks to Amazon Vine for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
It still amazes me how much I enjoyed this book. Granted, it does stretch the superhero capabilities of a main character and the religious reality of today, but this is why they call it fiction.
Brigid Fitzgerald is not your usual protagonist. She is a physician, from a scarred upbringing, making life and death decisions during her work with Kind Hands, an organization that brings medical care to war torn regions. South Sudan is a horrible place where life has no meaning and the warring factions make all the rules. Where the unsterile conditions are just as hazardous as the surgeries that are being performed on the refugees.
The reader is taken on a whirlwind ride where loss is all too common in Brigid’s life. From the aid workers who have just arrived at the camp to a marriage and child to Berlin then back to Boston. Throughout her journey, she questions what her purpose is and if she meant to be in the middle of such turmoil. Faith has never been easy, but what could God’s plan be that is filled with so much grief? She tries to turn her back on God but each person who enters her life bears an answer forcing her to be in constant struggle with her faith.
In walks James Aubrey – a priest unjustly accused of a crime and threatened by the archdiocese. When he can no longer take the abuse from the narrow thinking guidelines, he breaks off and forms his own place of worship. Breaking centuries old rules, the community and eventually the world, flock to his place of worship.
This is where the book is going to lose some readers. Reality is stretched here but once again, that is why they call it fiction.
Brigid makes a life altering decision and in doing so, she once again is forced to ask “why”. As I said, her life is not easy, but there was always a plan. Holy visions and mystical experiences have been a part of Brigid’s life since her time in the Sudanese desert, now it is time to see what it all meant and how it has led to a private audience with the pope.
A tale of perseverance, James Patterson and Maxine Paetro has given their readers a unique book that is not their usual. Entertaining some and irritating others, this book will definitely give readers something to think about.
Brigid Fitzgerald is not your usual protagonist. She is a physician, from a scarred upbringing, making life and death decisions during her work with Kind Hands, an organization that brings medical care to war torn regions. South Sudan is a horrible place where life has no meaning and the warring factions make all the rules. Where the unsterile conditions are just as hazardous as the surgeries that are being performed on the refugees.
The reader is taken on a whirlwind ride where loss is all too common in Brigid’s life. From the aid workers who have just arrived at the camp to a marriage and child to Berlin then back to Boston. Throughout her journey, she questions what her purpose is and if she meant to be in the middle of such turmoil. Faith has never been easy, but what could God’s plan be that is filled with so much grief? She tries to turn her back on God but each person who enters her life bears an answer forcing her to be in constant struggle with her faith.
In walks James Aubrey – a priest unjustly accused of a crime and threatened by the archdiocese. When he can no longer take the abuse from the narrow thinking guidelines, he breaks off and forms his own place of worship. Breaking centuries old rules, the community and eventually the world, flock to his place of worship.
This is where the book is going to lose some readers. Reality is stretched here but once again, that is why they call it fiction.
Brigid makes a life altering decision and in doing so, she once again is forced to ask “why”. As I said, her life is not easy, but there was always a plan. Holy visions and mystical experiences have been a part of Brigid’s life since her time in the Sudanese desert, now it is time to see what it all meant and how it has led to a private audience with the pope.
A tale of perseverance, James Patterson and Maxine Paetro has given their readers a unique book that is not their usual. Entertaining some and irritating others, this book will definitely give readers something to think about.
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