Book: Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson

This women’s contemporary fiction was more than an enjoyable read. The main character, Heather, is unhappy with her (from the outside looking in) wonderful life but doesn’t understand why she isn’t content.

She struggles with guilt from her past. She leaves her perfect church where it seems everyone there wears a mask. And she goes looking for answers.

In her journey, she finds God. He shows her what she’s missing. Many interesting people and situations enter her life and eventually  point her in the right direction. People she’d never have imagined knowing, like an old Quaker woman and her sister, a nun, some drug addicts, and a drug dealer.

We watch her struggles as she moves forward. We’re there with her when she faces her own ugliness and the beauty of God’s grace. We root for her to risk all she holds dear as she understands what she needs to be truly happy.

The author, Lisa Samson, ties up the ends to both Heather’s past and future in a tangible way. In an interesting way, Heather’s past is redeemed in a subtle way.

The universal themes of forgiveness and grace make this story important for anyone who has ever needed them. And, in the way a character from a book can do, Heather can be a best friend, showing us things about ourselves we may not even know.