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This book is just not written in my style. It jumps around too much and is very fragmented and it seemed hard for me to figure out all her women friends from the school or neighborhood or acquaintances. It does have a good meaning and I agree with Heather trying to find her way and the Lord's will for her life. I didn't like that she seemed so disconnected from her husband but it all turned out well. ( )

Heather is suburban mom who looks like she's got everything you'd want. She has a lakeside dream home, and enough money from her surgeon-husband's salary to finance private Christian school for her son, make continual upgrades to their home, and go on regular compulsive buying fits. Her husband adores her even though she sees her extra weight as a turn-off. She's also caught up in the loop of keeping appearances with the other moms at school. Her teenaged son, Will, has problems with being teased at school over his own awkwardness, which causes Heather to reflect on her past as a bully in elementary school. all these things, along with her other bad driving habits, put her on a path to radical change. This book isn't meant to make you feel guilt-tripped into making changes, but will probably resonate with you on one level or another. What suburban Christian mom hasn't wondered if they were missing God's call? Is the Christian life really about acquiring the finest household items, raising our children in a protected environment, and settling into a local church with the best programs for our families? Or is there something else out there? How do we deal with our broken dreams and guilt over the past? How do we move forward from where we are now and how do we listen to God when we sense our paradigms shifting beneath us? I think this book gives you permission to begin looking at these issues in our own lives without thinking we are going crazy in the process.

If you are from a fundamentalist Christian background, you probably will be uncomfortable with the ecumenicalism and somewhat feminist perspective. Heather has a friend who holds a pastoral degree, and she asks her to conduct the service of a newly formed house church. The main character also volunteers at a Catholic inner-city mission. Yet I think you will still appreciate Heather's desire to live a more Christlike life in seeking and extending forgiveness, as well as giving up comfort for the sake of the Gospel. ( )

A slow-starting book, and Quakers don't appear (unnamed) until page 129. Many opportunities for self-reflection in the central character's musings.

Language alert: If you're offended by God, Bible or Jesus talk, reading this book might help you get past all that!

Boeiend verhaal van de 46 jarige ik figuur, Heather. Ze is getrouwd met de hartchirurg Jace en heeft 1 zoon, Will van 15 jaar. Ze is ontevreden over haar rol in het leven en wil haar geloof uitdragen en hier echt wat mee doen. Ze is gehecht aan mooie, dure spullen en koopt telkens weer te veel. Na ontmoeting met de zuster J. die een daklozenopvang runt en door een toeval komt ze bij 2 zussen in huis van 90 en 85 die een duidelijke kijk hebben op wat ze doen met hun leven. ( )