Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: His Steadfast Love

Enjoy Christian novels with a historical twist? The fourth book in the "Darkness to Light" series, His Steadfast Love, has just come out. It's the spring of 1861 on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Amanda never thought she would marry because of a promise she made to her dying mother, but her attraction to Captain Kent Littlefield is undeniable. When Texas secedes from the Union, her brother Daniel aligns with the Confederate States, while Kent remains with the Union troops. Her heart is torn between the two men she is closest to and the two sides of the conflict. Amanda prays to God for direction and support, but hears only silences. Where is God in the atrocities of war- and whose side is He on? Amanda senses her life is at a turning point. She must trust God to deliver her family through the chaos of war with her heart and her faith intact. This book stands well alone, but sticklers for series order should start with In the Shadow of the Sun King.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

His Steadfast Love

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