The Strength-Giver

Facing The Dawn by Cynthia Ruchti is the most beautiful Christian tale about love and loss and hope.

Cynthia Ruchti writes with care and compassion as the reader immerses themselves in her beautiful words. Facing The Dawn is like a hug from Jesus in a book.

The reader will not be able to read this book and remain unchanged. We ‘see’ and ‘feel’ the hope and love of Jesus. A character asks ‘what is the antidote to fear?’ The answer is ‘love’. Jesus is love.

The grief is raw and palpable. “I’m doing all I can to squeeze out ‘Jesus, help!’ from time to time. No offense, but I can’t read your Word right now.” We witness a character drowning in grief. Sometimes all we can do is cling on to Jesus and rest in His presence. He understands our pain. He understands our needs. “You do understand if I don’t have it in me to sit beside people who all want to put their arms around me.” Sometimes we just need to be alone. To deal with others is just too hard. Jesus understands. The reader ‘feels’ the desperate sadness of the character.

Cynthia Ruchti is masterful with her pen as she paints the raw emotions. “Hope… stripped away by the ravenous ravens of grief.” We can empathise with the character.

A grief journey is different for everyone. “Grief is just love with no place to go.” There is no right or wrong way to grieve. There is no time limit. Grief takes as long as it takes and it meanders at will.

Within the novel we witness a beautiful friendship. It is a friendship that says I am here for you. If you push me away I will return. I will be here for you when you want me. This can be seen as a motif for God who will never leave us. “God, you’re here aren’t you? The awfulest of all the awful days.” God walks beside us whatever we face. He is waiting for us to lean on Him. “You’ll get through the hard bits if you’re leaning on the Strength-Giver.”

Sometimes we need to be like Jacob and wrestle with Jesus in our grief. In the end we will receive blessing.

There is also guilt. “I’m sorry I laughed this afternoon. It wasn’t because I’d forgotten you.” We can ‘feel’ the pain and sense the emotions held in tension. We must not feel guilty when we begin to live and love and laugh again.

Cynthia Ruchti always writes powerful works of great beauty. Facing The Dawn is incredibly powerful. The loss and pain, the hope and love are all palpable.

Although the tale is about a journey through grief, it is not a gloomy read. It is a hope-filled read. It is a love-filled read. It is a beautiful read. It is this hope and love and great beauty that remain with the reader long after the last page is read.

I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

JULIA WILSON

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!

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 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