Nora sucked in a breath and swallowed. “We have a letter.” She handed it to her daughter.
Christi stared at the envelope and handed it back. “You open it.”
Nora slid the blue plastic opener along the fold and pulled out a sheet of plain paper. She cleared her throat and read it aloud.
To the family who gave me my life,
I know you don’t know me, but I had to write to you and thank you for being so generous. All I know is that my heart was failing, or almost failed, and now I have a new heart, which is strong and vigorous. I have been through a rejection episode, but thanks to medications and many prayers, I am able to walk and run, and am learning how to roller blade. I plan to start skiing next winter. I am back to college with a communications major.
My father died years ago and my mother recently married a man who loves us both; actually, he was my uncle first. We have moved to a ranch and I have a horse now, something I dreamed of all my life.
My mother is a nurse and she says that you gave both of us back our lives when you were willing to donate your son’s body for organ donations. I know there are others out there who can see better, have had skin grafts and other gifts of life, thanks to you.
I can only guess at your grief and suffering. One thing I’ve learned is that life is not fair, but God is love and He never lets us go. My mother says He is the original recycler, never wasting anything. I pray that He comforts you and your family every day, and know that there are families who thank Him continuously for new lives and health. Your son’s death was not a waste.
In God’s love,
A grateful family
Reading Group Guide
When someone close to you dies, what do you learn about grief?
Have you ever experienced the loss of a loved one? How did you grieve? How did your family and friends help you? What could they have done to ease your pain?
How do you feel about organ transplants? Are you an organ donor?
Jenna has built her life to entirely revolve around Heather before the transplant. Is that in her or Heather’s best interest? How can a mother love and care for a chronically sick child without losing herself in the process?
How does grieving for the death of a young person differ from grieving for an older person?
Trauma and death can either drive us toward God or away from Him. How does your faith help you in times of trouble?
Jenna has to make a sudden adjustment to having her daughter grow up and leave the nest when Heather is blessed with a new life. Have you experienced letting a grown child become independent? How were your feelings similar and different from Jenna’s?
Sometimes people of faith don’t know what to say or what to do to comfort those who have lost a loved one. How does your faith help you help those who are grieving?
For Nora One Perfect Day ended in tragedy. For Jenna One Perfect Day ended in hope. How can that be? How can God’s plan hold heartbreak for one family and hope for another?
Do you think Nora and Jenna should have met in person? How do you think such a meeting would have affected each woman?
Contents
Front Cover Image
Welcome
Reading Group Guide
Acknowledgments
Chapter One: Nora
Chapter Two: Nora
Chapter Three: Jenna
Chapter Four: Jenna
Chapter Five: Nora
Chapter Six: Jenna
Chapter Seven: Nora
Chapter Eight: Jenna
Chapter Nine: Nora
Chapter Ten: Jenna
Chapter Eleven: Nora
Chapter Twelve: Jenna
Chapter Thirteen: Nora
Chapter Fourteen: Jenna
Chapter Fifteen: Nora
Chapter Sixteen: Jenna
Chapter Seventeen: Nora
Chapter Eighteen: Jenna
Chapter Nineteen: Nora
Chapter Twenty: Jenna
Chapter Twenty-one: Nora
Chapter Twenty-two: Jenna
Chapter Twenty-three: Nora
Chapter Twenty-five: Nora
Chapter Twenty-six: Jenna
Chapter Twenty-seven: Nora
Chapter Twenty-eight: Jenna
Chapter Twenty-nine: Nora
Chapter Thirty: Jenna
Chapter Thirty-one: Nora
Epilogue
Praise for Lauraine Snelling and Her Books
Copyright
Praise for
LAURAINE SNELLING AND HER BOOKS
“Reminding us that love can spring forth from ashes, that life can emerge from death, Lauraine Snelling writes a gripping and powerful novel that will inspire and uplift you.”
—Lynne Hinton, author of The Last Odd Day
“Snelling writes about the foibles of human nature with keen insight and sweet honesty.”
—National Church Library Association
“Snelling is good at creating suspenseful twists and turns.”
—Bookbrowse.com
“Lauraine’s writing is both humorous and convincing.”
—Leslie Gould, author of Beyond the Blue and Garden of Dreams
“The emotional takeaway of [The Way of Women] is reminiscent of Karen Kingsbury at her best. The characters’ issues are neither surface nor easily solved. A challenging, fulfilling read.”
—Romantic Times
“Ruby leaves you feeling uplifted and is a treasure readers should mine from the choices available.”
—Bookloons.com
—Eva Marie Everson, coauthor of the Potluck Club series, on The Brushstroke Legacy
“I didn’t just read this book; I devoured it, reluctant to put it down until I knew the outcome. This beautifully written story of friendship and faith will leave you a little more sure of two things: the goodness of God and the power of prayer. Saturday Morning is Lauraine Snelling at her very best.”
—Ann Tatlock Christy Award–winning author of All the Way Home
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2008 by Lauraine Snelling
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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Second eBook Edition: August 2011
ISBN: 978-0-446-54458-0
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