Thursday, April 23, 2020

About the Book

Book: The Joy of Falling

Author: Lindsay Harrel

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Release Date: April 14, 2020

Eva and Angela must learn to live again. One step at a time.

It has been fifteen months since Eva and Angela lost their thrill-seeking husbands in a scuba diving accident. Both women are trying to navigate their way through the grief, but neither one is making much progress. Angela is barely making ends meet, angry at her husband for leaving her to raise three children on her own. Meanwhile, Eva is stuck, unable to move forward after losing the love of her life and her source of inspiration.

But then Eva gets a life-changing phone call. Before Brent and Wes died, they had signed up for a race of a lifetime—an ultra-marathon in beautiful New Zealand. Eva begs Angela to run the race with her in their husbands’ place, and Angela finally agrees, hoping to finally understand her husband’s choices.

Training is exhausting, and the race is even more demanding. Their journey grows more complicated by the presence of two men—Marc is Brent’s best friend who is running the race with Eva and Angela, and Simon King is a writer who is covering their inspiring story. With every step, Eva and Angela must ask themselves questions that they haven’t had the courage to ask before. As the women literally put one foot in front of the other, they wonder: Is it possible to find their way forward in hope?

Click here to get your copy!

MY REVIEW

I was a bit unsettled to read this book. I knew it dealt with loss and I wasn’t sure I could read another book like that. Well I take all that back. This book is so much more than losing someone. It’s finding yourself, letting go, allowing yourself to grieve and then moving on. I liked how the author showed Eva and Angela in different states of grieving. No one grieves the same and it was nice to see how these women made mistakes, got angry and comforted each other.

I loved reading about New Zealand and how beautiful it is there. I’m not sure I would be able to take on the task that Eva and Angela did. It’s something they needed to do not just for their husbands, but for themselves. I learned a lot while reading this book. God is there for us and wants to fill us with joy. Even in our darkest moments God is there . It gives us hope knowing that we aren’t alone. This book has been a healing for me. I’m grieving for the loss of my brother and the author has helped me through with this story to guide me back to God and find joy and peace in His arms.

The race that the women are determined to finish has so many emotional moments I cried most of the time while reading . Along the trials they each face their past in different ways. I loved reading their adventure in New Zealand and finding strength as they drew closer to the finish line. The book is a wonderful journey of faith as Eva and Angela find joy in the midst of grief. I loved how faith played a part in the story. It was nice to see how Angela and her children found a way to grow closer and lean on each other. Through it all is a strong message of finding yourself, allowing God to help you and to never give up.

“When a negative thought or feeling comes, put it in a box in your mind. Tell yourself that box is sealed, that opening it will destroy everything you’re working toward.”

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

About the Author

Lindsay Harrel is a lifelong book nerd who lives in Arizona with her young family and two golden retrievers in serious need of training. She’s held a variety of writing and editing jobs over the years and now juggles stay-at-home mommyhood with writing novels. When she’s not writing or chasing after her children, Lindsay enjoys making a fool of herself at Zumba, curling up with anything by Jane Austen, and savoring sour candy one piece at a time. Connect with her at LindsayHarrel.com.