When I first met Leah Thornton, I knew I liked her. There was something special about this woman, something real. Although maybe from the outside all looks wonderful, but there is a facade going on, and Leah is hurting. When I say she is real, I mean she is so much like you and I. She is facing heartache from losing a child, a husband who is not really present, a family that she cannot relate to, and all this is just the beginning. There is so much more inside that Leah has not yet realized is adding to her little problem as others call it. Leah is an alcoholic. She is blessed to have her best friend reach out and be honest with her. As this friend reaches out, Leah begins to see the truth behind her facade. She was even fooling herself into believing all is okay.
Leah enters a program for alcoholics and meets a group of people unlike her in so many ways, but like her in many more that she hasn't realized yet. This group of unique people become her family for twenty-eight days. As she looks at them thinking she is nothing like them, she soon finds common ground and begins to open up and release all she has been hiding and hiding from. The depths of her hurt began as a child, and she learned to cover up her pain instead of letting it go and meeting it head on.
I loved every page of this story. It is beautifully written and poetic in such a real way. There is grace beyond hurt. There is healing beyond fear. And there is redemption in honesty. We see a real portrait of alcoholism. What it does to one and those around them.
God is interwoven in these pages and His word brings strength and wisdom. Leah is full of grace and has a sense of humor, and those only blossom as she finds her true self outside of the bottle. Alcoholism reaches all of us in one way or another and this book is one that you will love.
It is not only eye opening, but a gift to behold, for it brought many new thoughts to my mind and added a new light to my faith.Watching Leah blossom was much like watching God unfold a new creation. As she lets the old go, the new has hope and much to give, a life Leah didn't even know existed.
This book was given to me by Christa Allen for its review. Thank you Christa for such an amazing gift.
Christa Allan, a true Southern woman who knows any cook worth her gumbo always starts with a roux and who never wears white after Labor Day, weaves stories of unscripted grace with threads of hope, humor, and heart. The mother of five and grandmother of three, Christa teaches high school English. She and her husband, Ken, live in Abita Springs, Louisiana where they play golf, dodge hurricanes, and anticipate retirement. Visit Christa on the web at http://www.christaallan.com/.
