My rating: 4/5
Provocative, inspiring, and hopeful, This Promised Land by Cathy Gohlke is a masterfully written novel that integrates themes of family, forgiveness, and restoration into a riveting tale that resounds in the heart of the reader far beyond the end of the story.
Set during the early 1990’s in the small town of New Scrivelsby, Virginia, This Promised Land is a family saga of redemption, grace, and mercy as exhibited in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. Main character Ginny Pickering Boyden has recently retired and is anticipating relocating to England where she plans to fulfill her long cherished dream of touring England and where she plans to work as a garden apprentice at her family ancestral manor house bearing a botanical garden. As Ginny is preparing to relocate, she unexpectedly receives a letter from a law office in her hometown of New Scrivelsby, informing her of the death of her older brother and her inheritance of the family farm. Ginny has mixed feelings about returning to the farm, as she has stayed away for over 30 years, thinking herself exiled from the family following a harsh decision she made in her youth. She warily returns, hoping to sell the property, only to find that residing on the farm holds the one thing she has desired for many years, and that is family. What she believes to be a temporary stay to prepare the farm to sale, turns into more than she anticipated, when she learns of her oldest nephew and his wife living on the property, as well as the abrupt arrival of her youngest nephew and his three young children to the farm. A slew of events takes place that remind Ginny, as well as the others, of the importance of family. These events also serve to restore past failures, hurts, and disappointments that they have experienced in their lives that threaten to dismantle the family and family business. The story remarkably emphasizes the divine wisdom of the Lord portrayed in His perfect plan for our lives, as well as the importance of trusting in His plan despite our limited understanding.
“Aren’t we all runaways from God in one way or another, at some time or another? Haven’t we all deserted Him, broken His heart, demanded our inheritance-bent on grabbing our wants?” –This Promised Land.
In This Promised Land, author Cathy Gohlke exhibits her profound skill at writing astounding, God centered stories as she effortlessly draws the reader into this storyline with dynamic characters and a plot that boasts of inspiration and hope in the face of affliction. The plot brimmed with wonderful Christian faith content and is a well-paced page-turning story that illustrates the blessing of family. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and I highly recommend it to others.
With gratitude, I received a digital advanced reader copy of this novel from Tyndale House Publishers via NetGalley. The opinions in this review are unbiased and my own.
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