Fall Back And Find Me By Sarah Hanks

Fall Back and Find Me

by Sarah Hanks

Publisher: Sonflower Books

ISBN: 9798985478945

This was my first dive into Sarah Hanks' books. Thanks to my friend, Andrette, I was excited to give her a try. Boy am I glad I did! She sent me her ebook ARC for review.

Summary:

Two resilient women separated by over 150 years are linked forever by their challenges, values, and determination.

Amber Prichard is thriving in her role as pastor’s wife, mom, and indispensable church volunteer—until chronic illness threatens to upend everything. Now unable to prove her value, she is forced to reevaluate how she defines herself. Inspired by an ancestor’s faded journal and heirlooms, she must work with her arch-nemesis if she wants to accomplish what is now impossible on her own.

Faced with the turmoil of the civil war, Willow Forrester didn’t intend to illegally enlist in the Union army as a secret female soldier. She only wanted to escape her father’s tyranny and follow her brother into the throes of adventure. When she comes face to face with the leader of a guerilla army, her health and insecurities threaten to shatter her heroism and render her powerless.

As their opposition threatens to overtake them, these two women must find their strength and identity to defeat impossible odds.

My Review:

My first thought when Fall Back and Find Me comes to mind, is that we need more books like this! Women's fiction that covers everyday, real life issues like a chronic illness. While I don't have a chronic illness, I completely felt for Amber. You hear real life stories about invisible illnesses, and the author did an excellent job of what that looks like for the person living with the illness, their family, and those around them. And don't even get me started on her mother! hahahaha

I can't tell you how many times I wanted to haul off and give some people the "what for!" We're told not to take up other people's crosses, but in this instance, I was ready to do it for Amber. Living the story through Amber's eyes really gives the reader painful insight to what she deals with on a regular basis. As her role as pastor's wife shrinks in the rearview mirror, she's forced to figure out who she is in Christ. There are times it's hard to watch as she struggles with her identity, her perceived failures, and fear of losing her family. I'm getting all worked up again thinking of the awful people who treat her so terribly. On the flip side, how well she's loved by so many people gives me hope that there are still good people in the world.

Then we meet Willow! What a tenacious gal. Living during the Civil War times, Willow doesn't have a lot of worth in her father's eyes. All she wants to do is prove herself to him and gain his love. When that doesn't happen, she follows her brother into war disguised as a boy.

I loved how she used her skills (which she didn't realize she had) to rise in the ranks and respect of the military. I just felt so bad for her because She just wanted recognition, but it kept alluding her. Watching her brother rise up through the ranks bristles, so she strives even harder. In the midst of it all, she starts to realize there's something wrong with her physically. There's nothing she can do about it except to keep pressing on!

This author knocked it out of the ballpark on every level of this story. It was well written, characters were easy to care for, she stirred up all kinds of emotions in me, and the thread of faith was strong! I'll be diving into more of her books and can't wait!

About the Author:

Sarah Hanks is an award-winning author of Christian fiction in both the contemporary and historical genres. After spending over a decade mostly writing and teaching Sunday school curricula for churches in her community, she finally jumped into writing fiction full-time. She and her husband have nine children of their own, a couple of whom seem to have inherited their mother’s love for playing with words and crafting stories. Though Sarah dreams of a cabin by the beach, the family of ten lives jammed together in beautiful chaos near St. Louis, Missouri. She buys earplugs in bulk.