A Book That Hit So Close To Home!

I knew as soon as I started reading Ginny Yttrup's newest book "Invisible", that I was not going to put it down, and I was correct. I found myself yearning to get back to it even when I was in the middle of doing my other tasks. Yes! It was THAT good! Ginny's main character in the book is named Ellyn, she is a chef and owner of a cafe and is a lover of butter, but she is not a lover of herself. All she sees when she looks in the mirror is an overweight woman with nothing to offer anyone, especially a man. She is very friendly to people who come into her cafe and makes them feel right at home, but underneath all that she has a lot of hurt from past pain she needs to deal with. Ellyn starts to meet some new friends, one of them she meets is a beautiful woman named Sabina, she is staying in town for an extended time to deal with some issues herself. The friendship these ladies strike up is a "match made in heaven"! I believe God brings people in our lives who may be opposites in some ways but are perfect in the most important areas. Sabina is not afraid to tell Ellyn the truth and vice versa! Ellyn also begin a friendship with a young girl named Twila who she meets at a health food store, Ellyn doesn't realize it, but Twila has been dealing with her own type of eating disorder and has such a strength inside her that will be a great tool to help aid Ellyn towards a better eating lifestyle for herself. In between these relationships with these ladies there is a man,Miles, Ellyn's old doctor. He has been a widow for two years, and is very attracted to Ellyn, but Ellyn cannot fathom how anyone could possibly find her attractive. She has a long road to go before she can open that door. This book is not just about weight issues. The weight issues are just a symptom of something much deeper, a deeper hurt, a hurt these ladies have suffered in their past that has caused them to either overeat or not eat at all. And until that hurt is dealt with the symptoms will not go away. It also will not allow them to move on with the rest of their lives with another person, the healing inside of them has to begin first. I could definitely relate to several areas of this book. I think that is why it drew me in so easily. It made me laugh and it made me cry! And in the end it made me thank Jesus again for bringing me through my own battles with overeating. I was married to a man who whenever I would eat anything he would tell me, "you don't need to eat that." I would hide candy bars in my drawers. It was pretty sickening to have to do that. He and I went to divorce and he told me I was "fat and nobody would want me, I was lucky that he wanted me." I divorced him because he was an alcoholic and I couldn't put out children through that anymore. I am now married to a wonderful Christian man, married me when I was "bigger", I went from a size 18 and am now a size 12, but he would have loved me no matter what size I was! I remember hearing those words like Ellyn heard from "Earl" telling her those put downs and making her feel shameful. Well NO MORE! because just like Twila's tatoo we are "Imago Dei" (Image of God) We should never put ourselves or anyone else down! I loved this book! I will definitely be recommending it to the ladies in my book club and to anyone who will listen! Blessings~Deborah

Finally Here!

When I got the email from Handlebar Publishing to review Ginny Yttrup's new book "Invisible" I could hardly wait. We were first introduced to her when the Chick Lit book club read her debut novel "Words". That book was amazing to say the least! At that time she sent us a copy of her second book "Lost and Found". I finished reading that one just last month, another great read! So I did not hesitate when I had the opportunity to review this one. Plus when we were doing our Skype interview with Ginny after we read her book, "Words", she had given us a sneak preview of this book so we knew it was something to watch for. I just opened up the book today and started reading and it is already hard to put down. I feel like I know the character and can relate to her story. I will post my review as soon as I finish, but I wanted to let you know that the book was FINALLY HERE!

I am so ashamed to have let so much time pass since my last post. I have been so very busy with our church ministry with Celebrate Recovery,which has been amazing, but it has left very little time for me to do things I used to do. I am becoming more organized since this New Year and will try to update my posts more regularly. I have been continuing to read, and I have so many books to write reviews for. The one I am writing for today is one I had the pleasure of receiving as a gift from Catherine Leggitt. We were honored to have her as our guest speaker at our Women's Retreat this past summer. What a treat that was!! Not only is she a talented author, but such a gifted speaker that connects so well with each woman right from the heart, no matter where you are in your walk of life! She is encouraging as she quotes scriptures from God's word and she also used a power point presentation from her own life that really touched our hearts. Catherine has a real talent that God has given her to remind women of all ages that we are created for a purpose and God is not finished with us yet. Catherine Leggitt has written three books in a series called "The Christine Sterling Mystery Trilogy", the first two I had not read yet. I approached her to let her know that my best friend and I have a Christian Women's book club and would love to review her book. I was thrilled when I received my copy in the mail. This book is called "Parrish the Thought". I was happy to know that I did not have to have read the other two in order to read this one, as it could be read as a stand alone. It would have been better so I could have gotten to know the character of Christine Sterling much better. I really enjoyed the characters in this story, I liked the way the author showed how the youth today react to the adults and vice versa. It is so true of life and I believe that with more communication and acceptance, there wouldn't be so many barriers between them. So many adults today forget what it was like to be young and have the stress and struggles along with the added family problems. I enjoyed the friendship Christine had with Zora Jane. She was a REAL friend, one who will tell here like it was and not apologize about it. She was the type of friend where the saying is true, "A true friend knows everything about you and loves you anyways!". I loved her boldness for Christ. It was refreshing and encouraging. We all need a friend like her. I got a laugh out of Christine's relationship with her husband, obviously after their many years of marriage, Jesse understands and tolerates his wife's behavior, but she definitely pushes the limits of sneakiness and manipulation. Relentless is an understatement when it comes to Christine, no matter how many times the detectives tell her to back off the case. Christine's character reminds me of a modern day Agatha Christie. I was happy with the way the story came together, it was unpredictable, and kept me guessing up until the reveal. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery with some humor thrown in as well! Happy Reading! Deborah (Thanks again to Catherine Leggitt for a very special treat!)