Shaped by the Waves

by Christina Suzann Nelson

Overview

Cassie George is barely staying above water as she works to get her doctorate and raise her daughter. But she stubbornly keeps swimming to prove a few bad decisions haven't ruined her forever. Plus, it's all a great excuse to stay away from the small Oregon town she fled in shame years prior. But when she receives a call that the aunt who raised her has had a major health crisis, she knows it's time to return.

Cassie is surprised to be more welcomed by the quirky seaside community than she expected, even if there's still tension between her and her former classmate Nora Milford. But she still can't help feeling unsettled and is mystified by a mysterious package that appears, full of typed pages that tell the story of an anonymous woman's life. As her curiosity sends her on a journey toward truth, Cassie will discover that who she thought she was and what she wants for her life are both about to change.

Praise for Christina Suzann Nelson

"Nelson's beautifully written tale . . . will have readers considering complex questions long after closing the cover."--LISA WINGATE on The Way It Should Be

"Recommended for libraries where Karen Kingsbury and Robin Lee Hatcher are popular."--LIBRARY JOURNAL on The Way It Should Be

"Nelson offers pictures of grace, glimpses of beauty, and the hope of redemption."--LAUREN K. DENTON on The Way It Should Be

"Readers will be quickly drawn into this powerful novel that is, in turns, both heartbreaking and uplifting."--BOOKLIST starred review on More Than We Remember

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493436064
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/01/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

CBA bestselling author Christina Suzann Nelson writes stories that focus on changing legacies from dysfunction to hope. Her first novel, If We Make It Home, was named a Library Journal Best Book of 2017 and a Foreword INDIES 2017 Book of the Year. Christina is a part of Oregon Christian Writers and a member of ACFW, where she has served as the northwest zone director. She lives in Oregon's gorgeous Willamette Valley with her husband of 26 years and their children. Visit www.christinasuzannnelson.com to learn more.
Christina Suzann Nelson (www.christinasuzannnelson.com) is an inspirational speaker and Christy award-winning author. Her first novel, If We Make It Home, was honored as one of Library Journal's top five inspirational novels of 2017, and her 2021 novel, The Way It Should Be, won the Christy Award for general fiction.

In 2017, Christina was named the OCW Cascade's Writer of Promise and received a Cascade award for her novel Swimming in the Deep End. Her stories have been published in the Cup of Comfort for a Better World, Cup of Comfort for Adoptive Families, as well as other publications.

Christina is over-the-top about her passions, including the stories created somewhere in the twists and turns of her less-than-focused brain. When she's not writing, Christina serves on the board of Every Child Linn-Benton, a nonprofit where she has the opportunity to influence the lives of families and children in the foster care system.

On a typical day, she chases escaped farm animals, reads, hikes with her dog, and enjoys her husband and six kids.

Editorial Reviews

12/13/2021

Cassie George, a young, single mother, returns to her Oregon hometown to care for her Parkinson’s-afflicted aunt in this saccharine but entertaining inspirational romance from Nelson (The Way It Should Be). Cassie’s aunt Shasta, who raised motherless Cassie like her own child, has been hiding her diagnosis for years and is nearing death. Overwhelmed at the prospect of losing her, Cassie takes a leave from her PhD studies and packs up her four-year-old daughter, Lark, to drive from California to the Pacific Northwest. As Cassie juggles caring for a child and Shasta, she receives an anonymous manuscript in the mail that details a woman’s marriage to an abusive husband and the loss of their only child. Cassie, who knows little about her deceased birth mother, becomes increasingly suspicious that the story’s connected to her own. Meanwhile, a local catches her eye, though she worries she won’t be able to balance romance and her caregiving duties. Things unfold predictably and slowly as Cassie uncovers and accepts her past while also returning to a reliance on God. It’s pleasant enough if clichéd, and should do the trick for readers who don’t prize novelty. Agent: Cynthia Ruchti, Books & Such Literary Management. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly