They Almost Always Come Home (33 page)

in-your-face role in the book. How did it affect Libby’s

relationship with her daughter?

6. The many references to “bathroom breaks” in the wil-

derness may have seemed crude, but represented both

Frank’s distress and the harsh reality—no matter what

the crisis, the necessities of life persist. If you’ve lost a

loved one, even temporarily, you know the added pain.

Laundry and meals and mortgages and dirty dishes

and bathroom breaks don’t stop for your grief. How

has that raw reality played out in your own life?

7. Imagine finding yourself marooned in unfamiliar ter-

ritory, your resources and resourcefulness drained.

Not only are you in trouble, but no matter how brave

or inventive, you cannot save yourself. The author

intended that as a symbol of humanity’s desperate

299

need for a Rescuer. In the story, God’s Word became

an umbilical cord, pumping pulses of hope until res-

cue arrived. And even then, it was a long trek home.

When have you been most conscious of your inability

to provide your own rescue?

8. Strength is made perfect in weakness, according to

the Bible. Libby discovered she was stronger than she

knew, weaker than she realized. In some respects, each

of the characters made the same discovery. What drew

them to those conclusions? What draws you?

9. What compelled Jenika to risk so much to stay by

Libby’s side?

10. Do you think Frank’s heart would have softened toward

faith issues if Libby hadn’t struggled with her own?

How was her battle key to his awakening?

11. In the pre-wilderness relationship between Greg and

Libby, how did the grief/blame cycle hamstring their

healing? How might it threaten their post-wilderness

lives? What proactive measures would you advise them

to take?

12. What was the one thing Libby discovered she needed?

So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering

the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it,

for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word.

—Hebrews 10:23, Amplified Bible

300

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fiction

a novel approach to faith

For information

on more fiction titles from Abingdon Press,

please visit www.AbingdonPress.com/fiction

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“…Refreshingly realistic religious fiction, this novel is unafraid to address the injustices of sexism, racism, and corruption as well as the spiritual devastation that often accompanies the loss of loved ones. Yet these darker narrative tones beautifully highlight the novel’s message of friendship, community, and God’s reassuring and transformative love.”
—
Publishers Weekly
starred review

The Call of Zulina, by Kay Marshall Strom

“This compelling drama will challenge readers to remember slavery’s brutal history, and its heroic characters will inspire them. Highly recommended.”

—Library Journal
starred review

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“I am purely a romance reader, and yet you hooked me in with a war scene, of all things! I would have never believed it. You set the mood beautifully and have a clean, strong, lyrical way with words. You have done your research well enough to transport me back to the war-torn period of colonial times.”

—Julie Lessman, author of
The Daughters of Boston
series

One Imperfect Christmas, by Myra Johnson

“Debut novelist Myra Johnson ushers us into the Christmas season with a fresh and exciting story that will give you a chuckle and a special warmth.”

—DiAnn Mills, author of
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and
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The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow, by Joyce Magnin

“Beware of
The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow.
Just when you have become fully enchanted by its marvelous quirky zaniness, you will suddenly be taken to your knees by its poignant truth-telling about what it means to be divinely human. I’m convinced that ‘on our knees’ is exactly where Joyce Magnin planned for us to land all along.”
—Nancy Rue, co-author of
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2009 Novel of the Year

The Fence My Father Built, by Linda S. Clare

“…Linda Clare reminds us with her writing that is wise, funny, and heartbreaking, that what matters most in life are the people we love and the One who gave them to us.”
—Gina Ochsner, Dark Horse Literary, winner of the Oregon Book Award

and the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction

eye of the god, by Ariel Allison

“Filled with action on three continents,
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www.AbingdonPress.com/fiction

Cynthia Ruchti writes and produces the daily

15-minute radio broadcast
The Heartbeat of the Home
and

is editor of the broadcast’s
Backyard Friends
magazine.

She currently serves as president of American Christian

Fiction Writers. With warmth and passion, she speaks

for women’s events and writers’ conferences. Cynthia and

her plot-tweaking husband live in the heart of Wisconsin

where she creates stories of “hope that glows in the dark.” Find Cynthia on the web at www.cynthiaruchti.com or www.hopethatglowsinthedark.com.

S
he would leave her husband . . .

if she could find him.

When Libby’s husband, Greg, fails to return from a solo canoe trip to the Canadian wilderness, the authorities write off his disappearance as an unhappy husband’s escape from an oatmeal marriage and an unrewarding career. But was it? She can’t leave him if she can’t find him. With the help of her father-in-law and her best friend, Libby plunges into the wilderness to search for

her husband and the remnants of her flagging faith.

He was supposed to be fishing. He was supposed to come home.

And she was supposed to care.

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