“Did God intend to answer her prayer and give her husband back to her, or answer her prayer and make her strong enough to find joy in singleness? Did she have the faith to believe life could be good – eventually – either way, that dawns would come and go whether she received the answer she wanted or not?”

– Mallory Duncan, Miles from where we started

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Book Review

Hope deferred makes the heart grow sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12)

We have all experienced the shattering reality of disappointed expectations. For Mallory, the anticipation of her first wedding anniversary is clouded by the resolution from her husband Connor to get a divorce.

As Mallory’s heart grows weary, Connor internalises the stress of his potential health issues and tries to talk himself into ending their marriage. A glimmer of hope appears as the two are thrown into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel across America on a three-thousand-mile road trip together.

Miles From Where We Started is a profound novel about journeys. Not just the physical journey across a state, but a journey of personal growth and spirituality. Mallory – whose deferred hope feels almost debilitating at times – learns through the journey to seek her peace and comfort in God. As she begins to trust the outcome of her seemingly shattered life to her Heavenly Father, she realises that with God in control, she can endure.

As Mallory and Connor cover miles and miles of road, confined in a tiny teardrop camper, with a sulky, trouble-seeking, at-risk teen thrown in the mix, they both begin to see that maybe, just maybe, there is still time and a way to restore what’s been broken. Their first year of marriage has not been what they had envisaged, but maybe with God’s help, they can see their dreams fulfilled and begin again.

This heart-warming, humorous and adventurous story by Cynthia Ruchti, truly showcases the goodness of God through all circumstances. A dream fulfilled surely is a tree of life.