"Feathers of Hope" (Sharon Garlough Brown)

TITLE: Feathers of Hope: A Novel
AUTHOR: Sharon Garlough Brown
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2021, (384 pages).

Hope. This world needs hope more than ever. Not only is the world we live in constantly changing, but we too are also changing. As we age, our perspectives, our physical abilities, and our perceptions of our needs will be strangely different. One can either resist the change for as long as possible or embrace change as soon as one can. The former reclines in fear while the latter nudges forward in hope. What better way to describe these transitions through a novel that spells out the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of change. Centering around the lives of three women, this book offers readers many insights into life transitions, losses, and love. Like birds that molt gradually, eventually, one has to face up to a "dramatic shedding of the old." Recognizing how many people are creatures of habit and largely resistant to change, sometimes, we just need to learn to let go and let God, as the popular saying goes. Katherine Rhodes (aka Kit) has been serving as spiritual director of "New Hope Retreat Center." She has helped many people through many spiritual retreats, giving wise guidance as well as spiritual direction. As she prepares to transition to retirement, she makes a bold request for the board to look for a replacement with a dramatically different skill set in order to keep up with the times. This might seem easy to say but to surrender the comfort zones of one's past successes to another is another challenge altogether. Katherine was bold to ask for an "upgrade" from what she could offer. The board managed to find a promising candidate who checked all the boxes. Whether it checks Katherine's insecurities remains to be seen. Even as she prepares to do her last retreat, she has to deal with requests for more retreats by her. 

Then, there is Wren Crawford, Katherine's great-niece who offers caregiving to residents of a nursing home at Willow Springs. For all the good and kind deeds she did for the residents, she has to deal with terrible accusations by others over the "irreparable harm" to her best friend Casey's relationship with Brooke, and her subsequent grief over Casey's death. The author masterfully helps us enter into Wren's world and how she deals with the many emotional challenges of losing a best friend. The third woman in the novel is Sarah Kersten, daughter of Katherine. Like her mother, she is tenacious and strong-willed. The author skillfully uses their relationship to explore the contours of love as described in 1 Corinthians 13, the great chapter on love. 

Despite the title of the book, this novel is essentially a narrative of faith, hope, and love. Faith in dealing with transitions; hope in knowing that the next phase in life would be better; and love in the entire process of change. Transitions involve a willingness to change, and change requires the willingness to participate in the transitional process. There are many moments with which readers can identify. What does it mean to step down from a long-held position? How do we deal with retirement? How do we nurture someone to take over our role? How do we manage our relationships and our mental health? How do we deal with misunderstandings? What about recovery from depression? Brown does not shy away from writing with a faith perspective. Many of the characters in the novel are Christians. Believers would be familiar with many biblical themes in the book. Themes such as biblical stewardship, prayer, pain, suffering, hope, love, redemption, and especially spiritual direction. No matter what stage of life we are in, I am sure this book would resonate with our own life transitions.

This is the first Sharon Garlough Brown book that I've read, and it certainly will not be the last. 

Rating: 4.25 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of InterVarsity Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.