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Title: The Edge of Grace

Author: Christa Allan

Narrator: Angela Brazil

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-03-17

Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In a matter of seconds her entire world shifted...an early morning call shatters Caryn Becker's world. Unable to cope with her brother's news that he is gay, Caryn rejects him and disappears into her own turbulent life as a young widow and single mom. But when David is attacked and nearly killed, Caryn is forced to make hard choices about family, faith, and her own future, choices that take her to the very edge of grace.

Members Reviews:

Brave effort!

I bought the first version of this that was poorly edited. I read it then. In spite of myself, I was pulled into the story quickly.

Bless her heart, I thought Caryn was so WHINY. I understood her feeling cheated because her husband died young. I understood her feeling of confusion when her brother David came out. But she made everything about her, and that was not cool.

"When you first told me, I was more worried about being the sister of a gay brother than your being gay.." I was struck by this statement, and it seemed quite true. Caryn makes a comment at some point that she was surprised that her brother seemed to have a closer relationship with God than she did. She said she didn't want to be the one who pulled the rug out from him by telling him he was not going to heaven.

Where was she in her relationship with God? In no place to judge. I'm glad she finally figured that out. Her brother was the same person he was 10 minutes before he told her he was gay. How did she come to her beliefs? Dad wanted to send David (a grown man) to a reformation camp. She was just believing what she had been taught. Those beliefs didn't seem to be part of her.

I like books that make me think. This one does just that...

Christa Allen does a great job at drawing a reader in to someone else's world. I couldn't tell you how many times I paused to think about the main character's internal thoughts while reading this book. I really felt bad for her being widowed so young, and being a single mom of a son, and then feeling like she'd lost her brother, when in reality she hadn't. She just lost her image of him and had to reframe everything she'd believed about him.

I loved how the character questioning her assumptions made me think about my own. Especially when it comes to stereotypes. That Lady Gaga reference even made me laugh out loud while I was reading. The weird thing is that this story hit a bit close to home for me because right after my kids went to college last year (like literally the first month they were there) some guys were beaten up pretty badly and two were put in the hospital just because they were gay. The attackers knew this because they caught them leaving a "coming out" type party. That was scary for me because it happened where my kids went to school, and in a pretty "liberal" college town. It can happen anywhere. Hate crimes still happen and they are always wrong. Just like rape is always wrong. Great points there.

Also good points about how knowing something about someone shouldn't make you love them any less. Granted, no one wants to think about what people do privately, but it's true that one of the first things people think about is sex. But we don't think that about other people when we first meet them, right? Good thoughts. Also good ones regarding judging. Only God knows the persons heart and where they really stand with him. It's not our job to decide who He accepts and who he doesn't.