One Tuesday Morning

by Karen Kingsbury

Zondervan; May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0310247527

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Sometimes you just discover a novel who is able to move you, entertain you and enrich your life through their incredible novels and Karen Kingsbury is one of those authors! This is another superb book featuring very real characters who must deal with incredible loss and great triumphs. Woven through it all is an incredible sense of God's presence in the lives of these characters and the promise that it can be the same for everyone who turns to God and calls on His name.

This is one of the few books I have read that are a fictionalized account of experiences from people who survived the devastation of the Twin Towers on 9/11 and those who died. While it is a fiction book, the event it is based on was one that no-one in North America will soon forget and holds a great deal of emotion for many. While I am not typically someone who seeks out stories about 9/11, I read this book in spite of the fact that it was set in this setting. I was not disappointed. Apparently, Karen's own father questioned whether the readers were ready for such a personal account from the point of view of some who died and those who dealt with the horrific experience of losing someone, be it a friend, coworker, or loved one. Karen's response was something like this was her way of providing healing for people and she felt she had to write it.

After speaking with Karen personally at a local bookstore months ago, I have to agree that she seems to have a divinely ordained ability to speak with someone and soak up their story and communicate it in an amazing story. I believe she must have spent many hours talking with people who were directly impacted by 9/11 and her research paid off with a wonderfully genuine story of pain and despair and, ultimately, of finding hope in God's plan for our lives.

Simply amazing. You'll need a box of kleenex and you will not be able to put this book down so be prepared for a marathon read. Even a week later, the characters are appearing in my mind as I am struck by an image from the story. That is the best way of determining whether a book is exemplary or just another good read. This is definitely exemplary.