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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Anger and Rebellion Hide Hearts Full of Pain and Bitterness

by Chautona Havig · 3 Comments

What You Said to Me is more than a long-awaited next installment in the Tree of Life Series, it's an EXCELLENT one! via @chautonahavig

Picture it.  July of 1982-1984. Somewhere in there. Arizona. Phoenix, no less.  In that little apartment on Osborn, just down from 7th Avenue.

My grandmother lived there. While I recall visiting her at what I think was a mobile home in Ray, Arizona when I was two or three, that’s all I remember.  Knocking on the door, Grandma coming out… and that’s it.  Then there was a mobile home in Rush Springs, Oklahoma. I went there once.

The rest of my memories of Grandma’s house remain in that little apartment on Osborn. I learned valuable lessons in that apartment–most of them positive ones. However, one lesson stands out above them all, and it all began with the story of a cream separator.

At least twenty or thirty years earlier–probably more like forty years!–someone had borrowed one from my grandmother and never gave it back. At twelve or thirteen, I didn’t really understand why it mattered. Grandma lived in the city–didn’t have cows anymore. But of all the things Grandma taught me in that story, what she didn’t say stuck the longest.

  1. That cream separator did matter.  To her, anyway.
  2. She’d never let it go.
  3. Bitterness was an ugly thing.

I read once (Douglas Wilson) that if you keep rehashing how you should have said something or keep trying to practice how you’ll say it again, there’s a good chance that bitterness is at the root of your internal gnashing of teeth.  While I don’t agree that it’s a universal truth, remembering that line has made me stop and think about why I argued with someone who wasn’t with me.

Most of the time, it’s a way for me to process why I’m bothered.

I say all the things I’d want to say, get them all out there, and then examine them for truth, fallacy, what I know of the person. Most of the time, that’s the end of it for me. I’m able to let things go after the little exercise–no bitterness there at all. In fact, most of the time, that exercise is how I rip out any hair of a root of bitterness.

But once in a while, I hear it–an extra edge to my tone, or maybe the desire to throw back an accusation rather than respond to one.  It’s ugly… so ugly.

My grandmother was generally a kind and loving woman, but in the few areas she’d allowed bitterness to take root, it just wasn’t pretty. The day I heard that story, and then later heard it brought up again, and recalled that I’d heard it before after a while, I learned that truth.  Bitterness is plain ugly.

I read a book last night, and as I read, I had a new revelation.

Grandma’s bitterness had roots in pain, and that probably explains a lot of things that I always knew. I thought I knew why she was the way she was, but now I think there was more to it. See, in Olivia Newport’s, What You Said to Me, I watched the destruction of anger, rebellion, and bitterness play out on the page.  I saw the pain they all caused.  I saw how if you peeled back anger and rebellion from a young woman’s heart, you’d find it full of pain that slowly crystallized into bitterness.

Just as it had for her mother. Just as that had for her mother. Generations of pain-filled, bitter women.

What You Said to Me Review

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Anger and Rebellion Hide Hearts Full of Pain and Bitterness

Way back when I first read The Inn at Hidden Run, I said I was sure I’d like the series, despite not really liking that one.  I underestimated. Aside from that first book, I’ve loved this series. The characters have such complex personalities with reasonable quirks and flaws that keep you from becoming bored with them. Ms. Newport has created interesting plots that keep her split-time “mysteries” perfect page-turners. And, seriously, she’s an excellent writer.

This novel brings in a difficult, 21st-century teen, one seriously dysfunctional family, and a look into the difficult days of the Panic of 1893. As usual, this story has its own depths and layers that provide insight not only into the period and the historical events of the time but also into humanity. Ms. Newport shows through the generations that despite advances, societal rises and reversals, no matter the century, people are the same at the root.

All lost. Every single one in need of a Savior. All worth redeeming in His eyes.

Not only that, but she did it without a smidgeon of preachiness. Honestly, I feel like I should be bothered by the lack of spiritual guidance for poor Tish, the teen girl.  Why aren’t the Duffys showing that girl JESUS?  Well, I’d say because they are.

With careful use of Scripture and spiritual discussions in the historical part, the reader is allowed to see what applies to the modern story without once having to be beaten over the head with it.

What You Said to Me is recommended for folks who love time-split fiction, who love excellent characterization and interesting plots with a hint of mystery to them, and for those who love to see functional families contrasted with dysfunctional ones.  Not recommended for… um… someone, I’m sure. Me, I’m thrilled that I requested this review copy and am even more thrilled that I loved it as much as I expected to.

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Comments

  1. megan allen says

    December 5, 2020 at 8:18 pm

    This looks so good!!!

    Reply
  2. Caryl Kane says

    November 29, 2020 at 4:03 pm

    Wonderful review, Chautona! I enjoy time-slip novels. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  3. Emma says

    November 28, 2020 at 6:43 pm

    I would say that this is my favorite of the series.

    Reply

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Episode 42: A Chat with J'nell Ciesielski
by Chautona Havig

The cover got me first.  It was “my” Madeline, but of course, no one could tell if they didn’t know the photographer’s work. So, combine WWI, poppies, and “my” Madeline… well, I had to read it, right?  Yeah. Among the Poppies (review here) by J’nell Ciesielski was the best debut novel I’ve ever read.  Bar none.  I became an instant fan of J’nell Ciesielski that day, and I’ve read everything she’s written ever since.

So, when I heard about her newest release, of course, I wanted to read it.  I wanted to talk to her about it–all the things. So, let’s talk about this book.

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

My First “Top Book” of 2021 Begins HERE!

I had a wonderful discussion with J’nell about her newest release (as in releases TODAY!), Beauty Among Ruins, about her vision for writing Christian fiction, and the goals Thomas Nelson/Harper Collins has for some of their Christian fiction titles/authors!

Let’s start with this book: Beauty Among Ruins.  Guys… this book. Lily and Alec just hit the top tier of favorite characters ever. Not only that, but J’nell Ciesielski adds depth and richness to her cast by having supporting characters that I’m dying to know more about.  Sequel perchance?  I’d love that. Just sayin’…

We learned the history of the book, how it got its title… hint, the original was hilarious but um… yeah.  Not one that I’d grab off the shelf unless I saw J’nell’s name on it!), and some of the research she had to do to keep her from using the hackneyed old solutions to familiar problems in early 20th century England… well!  WHEW!

Oh, and speaking of those problems… One of J’nell’s most brilliant skills is taking the spine of a story you think you’ve read before and turning it into something fresh and new. For example, in Beauty Among Ruins, you have an American heiress, an aristocratic family who are floundering to keep up the family estate, a crumbling manor house turned into a hospital, and wounded soldiers.  Sound familiar?

It’s not. And that’s the brilliance of J’nell.

Add to that a storyline that keeps you guessing and full of rich history that never weighs you down with preachiness (seriously, preachy fiction isn’t just for Bible. It also happens with science, politics… and history!

Speaking of preachy fiction…

As much as I loved talking about her book, one of the highlights of the interview is getting an insider’s understanding of where Thomas Nelson is taking some of their fiction.

I’ve been an outspoken critic of the lack of spiritual content in the Christian Fiction coming out of Thomas Nelson in recent years. When you buy “Christian fiction,” you expect to find something other than just “clean fiction.”

In my discussion with J’nell, she described the publisher’s goal of using fiction with a Christian worldview and subtle elements to bridge the gap between Christian fiction and the general market. Knowing this is the plan rather than just a watering down of faith or something. Knowing that those elements are woven into subtext to be a gentle reach to readers who otherwise might not pick up Christian fiction makes that lack of overtness much more palatable.

Additionally, J’nell didn’t just write a “clean” book. The spiritual elements are in there. They’re just layered into that subtext. I found myself going to the Bible to see what it said about several things.  This is what I want from my Christian fiction.  I don’t’ need a token prayer or Bible verse.  Those do nothing for me. But give me something to chew on for a while, and I’m thrilled.

J’nell Ciesielski does that beautifully and has from the very first book of hers I read.

She also told me about a book coming out this summer… The Ice Swan.  Isn’t that cover GORGEOUS?

I’m so excited about Beauty Among Ruins  that I’m also giving away a copy of J’nell Ciesielski ‘s book to one commenter.

Go to https://chautona.com/because-fiction-42 and tell me if you’ve ever read anything by J’nell and what your favorite was if you have. I’ll try to draw next week when I do episode 43.

Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:

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Episode 42: A Chat with J'nell Ciesielski
Episode 42: A Chat with J'nell Ciesielski
January 13, 2021
Chautona Havig
Episode 41: A Chat with Jennifer Pierce
January 5, 2021
Chautona Havig
Episode 40: My Favorite Book of 2020
December 8, 2020
Chautona Havig
Episode 39: A Chat with L.K. Simonds
December 1, 2020
Chautona Havig
Episode 38: Dan Smith & Saving Ebenezer
November 24, 2020
Chautona Havig
Episode 37: A Chat with Sara Beth Williams
November 17, 2020
Chautona Havig
Episode 36: A Chat with Jennifer Beckstrand
November 10, 2020
Chautona Havig
Episode 35: What Is This NaNoWriMo Thing All About?
November 3, 2020
Chautona Havig
Episode 34: 5 Cheap & Easy Ways to Feed a Book Habit
October 27, 2020
Chautona Havig
Episode 33: 2020 Christmas Collections
October 20, 2020
Chautona Havig
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I get you, Keith. I get you. Justified Means: book I get you, Keith. I get you.
Justified Means: book one in the Agency Files, is on tour with Celebrate lit. Visit celebratelit.com to find a link to follow the blog tours and check out the reviews. 
#christiansuspense
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I can scribble!!! Justified Means: book one in the I can scribble!!!
Justified Means: book one in the Agency Files, is on tour with Celebrate lit. Visit celebratelit.com to find a link to follow the blog tours and check out the reviews. 
#christiansuspense
#christianfiction
#Christfic
#KindleUnlimited
Reposted from @karitrumbo Repost from @tabithaboul Reposted from @karitrumbo Repost from @tabithabouldin
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Who wouldn't want it?  Justified Means: book one Who wouldn't want it? 
Justified Means: book one in the Agency Files, is on tour with Celebrate lit. Visit celebratelit.com to find a link to follow the blog tours and check out the reviews. 
#christiansuspense
#christianfiction
#Christfic
#KindleUnlimited
Reposted from @becausefictionpodcast Episode 42: A Reposted from @becausefictionpodcast Episode 42: A Chat with J'nell Ciesielski

I had a wonderful discussion with J'nell about her newest release (as in TODAY!), Beauty Among Ruins, about her vision for writing Christian fiction, and the goals Thomas Nelson/Harper Collins has for some of their Christian fiction titles/authors!

Stay tuned for more in depth show notes in just a bit!

© © Chautona Havig 2020
@jnellciesielski
#becausefiction
#podcasts
#Christfic
#christianfiction
Kind of depressing but true... Justified Means: bo Kind of depressing but true...
Justified Means: book one in the Agency Files, is on tour with Celebrate lit. Visit celebratelit.com to find a link to follow the blog tours and check out the reviews. 
#christiansuspense
#christianfiction
#Christfic
#KindleUnlimited
Justified Means: book one in the Agency Files, is Justified Means: book one in the Agency Files, is on tour with Celebrate lit. Visit celebratelit.com to find a link to follow the blog tours and check out the reviews. 
#christiansuspense
#christianfiction
#Christfic
#KindleUnlimited
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