About The Book
Book: Facing the Dawn
Author: Cynthia Ruchti
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Release date: March 2, 2021
Mara Jacobs has been struggling. While her humanitarian husband is digging wells in Africa and caring for widows and orphans, Mara has been battling the home front—working a demanding yet unrewarding job, trying to manage three detention-prone kids, and suffering from exhaustion and depression. Even her own marriage is deteriorating after a three-year separation.
Then Liam’s absence turns into something more, changing everything and plunging her into a sunless grief. As Mara leans on those around her to find her way to healing and renewed faith, she discovers that even when hope is tenuous and the future is unknown, we can be sure we are not forgotten . . . or unloved.
Facing the Dawn is an emotionally evocative novel that will resonate with readers’ lives and their life challenges. Hemmed in hope, this tender story will be one readers will not soon forget.
Click here to get your copy!
My Impressions:
Facing The Dawn by Cynthia Ruchti wrecked me. And reached me. I don’t think I have ever read a novel more Spirit-filled than this one. Oh, its genre is women’s fiction, but the story that unfolds is one we all face at one time or another. I don’t mean that our lives will mirror main character Mara Jacob’s, but that we all face loss — of loved ones or security or dreams. And God can seem so far away and our lives so parched that we feel we will shrivel up. At first the story seemed too much. But as Ruchti weaves the hope through the hopeless, we see glimpses of God’s grace, mercy, and provision. I may be making this book sound super-religious. It’s not. It’s about how God can take our hurts and turn them into something useful and beautiful. Mara’s internal voice is snarky and so human. I loved that Ruchti did not shy away from Mara expressing anger and lostness. Supporting characters, and I do mean supporting, are wonderful. The transformation Mara goes through, along with that of her children, is a testimony of the faithfulness of those who come alongside us in our life journey. One particular sentence resonated with me — What we thought was pain upon pain paved the way for the work of God. See, Spirit-filled.
Facing The Dawn was not an easy or quick read for me. I needed breaks to ponder and rest. If you read this book you will understand. And I do hope that you will read it because from me it is very highly recommended.
Very Highly Recommended.
Audience: adults.
(Thanks to Revell for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
About The Author
Cynthia Ruchti is the award-winning author of more than 30 books, including the novels Afraid of the Light, Miles from Where We Started, As Waters Gone By, Song of Silence, A Fragile Hope, and They Almost Always Come Home. Her books have been honored with more than 40 readers’, reviewers’, and retailers’ awards, including Romantic Times’s Inspirational Novel of the Year, four Selah Awards, and five Christian Retailing’s BEST Awards, and has been a finalist for many others, including the Carol and the Christy. Former president of and current professional relations liaison for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), Cynthia lives in Wisconsin and can be found online at http://www.cynthiaruchti.com.
More from Cynthia
When I sit down to write a novel, I sometimes have little more than a title or a single scene in my head. For Facing the Dawn, I had a mental picture of a woman who felt like circumstances had drained all the “color” out of her life, as if she were a piece of fabric that had been left out in the sun too long. Faded. Threadbare. Bleached out.
Where was I supposed to go from there? What would have made her feel like that? (Oh, I could imagine, but I needed to know THIS character’s story.) I visualized her called in the principal’s office at her kids’ school, not knowing which of the three was in trouble this time. But it was her. The ridiculousness of it all was almost enough to push her over the edge. Ever been there?
For Mara in the story, a long string of disappointments clogged her life like a backed-up sink (which she also had). Then true tragedy struck. And again. But I couldn’t leave her in that place.
When I wrote the last few words of the story, my heart was full. Tears fell on the pages—or the keyboard. And I reflected back on all the symbolism in the story that actually revealed bits of hope embedded in its fabric.
I’m excited to see how readers respond when they discover those little bits—a cardinal in a stand of birch trees, an oil painting with unusual brushstrokes, a papered wall, a cup of soup, a long-forgotten song, an envelope of ashes…
A story comes to life when readers dive in. I’m looking forward to hearing what they find when they do.
Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, March 4
lakesidelivingsite, March 4
Through the Fire Blogs, March 4
Rebecca Tews, March 5
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations , March 5
Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, March 6 (Author Interview)
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, March 6
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 6
Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, March 7
Reviewingbooksplusmore, March 7
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, March 8
Kathleen’s Blog, March 8
Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, March 8
Texas Book-aholic, March 9
Cats in the Cradle Blog, March 9
Locks, Hooks and Books, March 10
Simple Harvest Reads, March 10 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)
Mypreciousbitsandmusings, March 10
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, March 11
Artistic Nobody, March 11 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)
Older & Smarter?, March 12
deb’s Book Review, March 12
The Christian Fiction Girl, March 13
Inklings and notions, March 13
Pause for Tales, March 13
For Him and My Family, March 14
Mary Hake, March 14
By The Book, March 15
Christian Bookaholic, March 15
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 16
Spoken from the Heart, March 16
Southern Gal Loves to Read, March 16
A Baker’s Perspective, March 17
Writing from the Heart Land, March 17
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Cynthia is giving away the grand prize package of a DrinkCo Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated BPA-free beverage container (keeps drinks cold for up to 24 hours/hot up to 12 hours), two Sunprint Notecards (Cynanotype art by Anna Atkins), an autographed copy of the novel Facing the Dawn, two Hemmed in Hope magnets/notecard inserts to encourage you or a friend, a Hemmed in Hope flash drive, and Facing the Dawn bookmarks (not shown in picture above)!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/108ce/facing-the-dawn-celebration-tour-giveaway
Tags: Cynthia Ruchti, women's fiction
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