BOOKS & STUFF

February has flown by bringing us to unpredictable March. This is a difficult time of year for me. I know we’ve got plenty of wintry weather ahead, but those darned seed catalogues make me long for green grass, bird songs and warm days. When it gets to me, I grab a book and pretend to be somewhere else.

The book that took me so long to read wasn’t quite as good as I thought it would be, but I’m still glad I finished it. Simply put, “At The Scent of Water” by Linda Nichols was a story of deep pain and redemption interspersed with Christian faith.

Dr. Sam Truelove grew up with his wife, Annie Dalton Truelove. When Annie’s mother, Ruth, passed away, her best friend, Mary Truelove, practically raised Ruth’s children, so it was only natural for Annie and Sam to fall in love.

They had a marvelous life as Sam rose through the ranks of pediatric heart surgeon. Then their world collapsed. Just as Sam was about to perform a routine heart repair on a girl named Kelly Bright, he received a call from his widowed mother. Their little daughter had drowned, and he was needed at home. Instead of going home, Sam did the surgery poorly.

The outcome was severe brain damage to Kelly Bright and total devastation to Sam’s marriage. The tragedy caused Sam, Annie and even Mary to turn away from the strong faith and blame God for their troubles.

One day Annie simply walked away, ending up in Seattle. She found a job writing features for a newspaper and was soon recognized for her talents. Each year Sam asks her to meet him at an inn and each year Annie almost goes.

After five years, Annie is preparing to move to Los Angeles for a job with the Los Angeles Times. All is in order until Annie learns that Kelly Bright’s family is fighting about having Kelly’s feeding tube removed. They’ve also filed a malpractice suit against Sam. Suddenly Annie knows she must return to South Carolina and settle her affairs before she can move on.

During the flight, her seatmate is from a nearby town and not only acquainted with people she knows but also related to some of them. Elijah Walker had a long history with the Dalton/Truelove clans and, after years of missionary work in Africa, he decided to return one last time and seek closure.

At one time, Elijah was engaged to Sam’s mother, Mary, and he’s still very much in love with her. Sam is furious that Annie has decided to file for divorce and doesn’t make their reunion easy. They agree to sell their former home but dividing possessions brings out the worst in both of them. Yet that forced proximity offers them a chance to really talk.

Sam learns that Annie was hurting long before their daughter died. She felt that Sam was allowing his job to consume all his emotional energies, leaving nothing for her.
At the same time Annie feels compelled to tell Kelly Bright’s story and meets with her mother, revealing that she, too, lost a daughter and that Sam is her soon-to-be ex-husband. She desperately wants Kelly’s mother to know who Sam was before their mutual tragedies.

When Annie’s father has a serious heart attack, the entire family is jolted out of their personal miseries and forced to look at what is most important in life. This book points out the amazing ways we are all interconnected and that redemption is available if we make an honest effort to find it.

We may not get “do overs” in life, but every morning offers a chance to start over. Your public library has a long list of books about those who made it happen and ideas for how you can do it, too. Drop by soon so you can check it out.

AT A GLANCE
BOOK: At The Scent of Water
AUTHOR: Linda Nichols
PUBLISHER: Bethany House Publishers
PUBLISHED: Feb. 1, 2009
PAGES: 416