River's End and a Bible Study

River's End
Melody Carlson
(Abingdon Press)
ISBN: 978-1426712746
September 2012/320 pages/$14.99
In the final story of the Inn at Shining Waters, Anna’s granddaughter Sarah is struggling to find herself. And in an attempt to escape her parents’ dysfunctional lives, Sarah travels away from all that is familiar. But her grandmother’s love and the pull of the river draw Sarah back. Still it’s not an easy journey to find the healing and forgiveness that’s needed to reunite and strengthen this broken family together again.


ABOUT THE AUTOHR

Melody Carlson is one of the most prolific novelists of our time. With around 200 books published and sales topping 5 million, Melody writes primarily for women and teens. She’s won numerous honors and awards, including The Rita, The Gold Medallion and Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. Some of her books are being considered for TV movies and film. Melody has two grown sons and makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband. When not writing, Melody likes to travel, bike, camp, garden, and walk her dog Audrey in the great outdoors.

Her latest book is a Christian Fiction titled River’s End.

Visit her website.

Pick up your copy of River’s End at Amazon.

Pick up your copy directly from the publisher.


MY THOUGHTS

Melody Carlson wraps up her Inn at Shining Waters series with the story of her granddaughter, Sarah. As the previous book, River's Call, closed, sixteen-year-old Sarah had run away with her boyfriend. Although she has returned, she is a shell of her former self, and Anna is desperate to help her heal. Set in the 1970's, the impact of communes that were common in the Pacific Northwest is portrayed. And while Lauren, who is Anna's daughter and Sarah's mother, has grown emotionally and spiritually, the consequences of her earlier dysfunction are still being reaped in the fractured relationship with Sarah. Forgiveness has been a prominent theme in each of the books in this series, but it flows through River's End as deeply as the river itself. This is my favorite book of the series and Carlson brought it to a beautiful conclusion.

Click here to read an interview with Melody Carlson about the background of this series.


HEALING WATERS BIBLE STUDY

I briefly saw Melody Carlson at ICRS in Atlanta and she told me that she is excited about the Bible Study that she has produced with Abingdon Press based on this series. I was able to get a copy of Healing Waters: A Bible Study on Forgiveness, Grace, and Second Chances and while I haven't had a chance to do the study, it looks wonderful. It is an eight-week study, with three weeks based on the first novel (River's Song, two on the second (River's Call), and three weeks on River's End. A brief summary of the book and character sketches open each section, and excerpts are scattered throughout the weeks' homework assignments as springboards for the topic of discussion. This is indeed a Bible study, however, and most of the homework involves looking up Scriptures that relate to the day's theme. Browsing through the pages and reading some of the questions and suggested prayers and applications points tempted me to stop and do it.

A companion DVD is available for groups which contains eight interviews (10-12 minutes each) with author Melody Carlson providing interesting insights and personal stories to illuminate the novels and themes of the study.

A Leader Guide is also available.




Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Abingdon Press and Pump Up Your Book Promotions as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”