How a Relational Journey Became an Amazing and Beautiful Spiritual One

In Erin Bartels’ latest release, All That We Carried, two sisters go on a journey not only of reconciliation but of spiritual discovery as well.

This book spoke to me on so many levels and I can’t recommend it enough. Listen as we discuss her why–her heart behind the story and how it still affects me weeks after reading.

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How a Relational Journey Became an Amazing and Beautiful Spiritual One

When I received All That We Carried and began reading, I didn’t realize that a couple of years earlier, I’d purchased another book by Erin Bartels. That book has been sitting, languishing in my TBR pile since then. I bought it because of the cover–stacks of books with the title, The Words Between Us. How on earth could I not love a book like that?

Yes. I buy books based on covers and titles. I’d tell you to sue me, but I’d really rather you didn’t. 😉

Erin Bartels has an almost lyrical quality to her writing but without the disappointing descent into purple prose that some authors end up with. Instead, you’re taken on a journey up hills, over rocks, sometimes kicking and screaming, and all the while, she shows the flawed, fragile souls of two people with very different outlooks and yet trapped and mired in the exact same place.

All That We Carried explores relational healing, spiritual awakening, and what forgiveness really means in the nitty-gritty. In the end, you’re left satisfied and yet wanting more–more from life, more from relationships, and more of the Lord.

Isn’t that what great fiction is all about?

What is All That We Carried by Erin Bartels about?

Ten years ago, sisters Olivia and Melanie Greene were on a backcountry hiking trip when their parents were in a fatal car accident. Over the years, they grew apart, each coping with the loss in her own way. Olivia plunged herself into law school, work, and a materialist view of the world–what you see is what you get, and that’s all you get. Melanie dropped out of college and developed an online life-coaching business around her cafeteria-style spirituality–a little of this, a little of that, whatever makes you happy.

Now, at Melanie’s insistence (and against Olivia’s better judgment), they are embarking on a hike in the Porcupine Mountains of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In this remote wilderness, they’ll face their deepest fears, question their most dearly held beliefs, and begin to see that perhaps the best way to move forward is the one way they had never considered.

Michigan Notable Book Award winner Erin Bartels draws from personal experience hiking backcountry trails with her sister to bring you a story about the complexities of grief, faith, and sisterhood.

You can find out more about Erin at Erinbartels.com