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Book Reviews

Surviving Carmelita-Susan Miura

I have a friend who's book went live on April 20th. Susan Miura has written for Young Adult Fiction but this is her first Women's Fiction. I sat down and read it in three nights. It was well worth the read.

Admittedly, Surviving Carmelita was not what I expected going in. It was so much better. I normally read rom-coms and romances. I was anticipating an easy read of a housewife in the suburbs. What I read was an emotional packed story that pulled on my heartstrings and held me in awe because despite how truly shattered our world is, Josie, our main character, was led to find hope. It wasn’t even what she set out to find, but Hope found her.

Josie’s life was flipped upside down in an instant. It was an accident. Something she would have given her own life to avoid if it were possible. And yet, it sent her on a journey to get away from the pain. On that trip, she met a preacher and his wife who loved people unconditionally and a ‘Beach Man’ who asked questions and supplied what she needed. A glass of lemonade. A cup of coffee. Someone to sit with. Healing for her broken heart.

At the same time, interwoven in her own story, it the story of Preacher and his wife, Rosa, and their own struggles. Loving the hurting will always be messy, hard and a sacrifice. Especially when they learn who Josie is and how her tragedy and theirs are interconnected. Preacher and Rosa chose to serve God and love Josie although it cost them emotionally to do it. Their faith and faithfulness are not without trials, but they are an example to us all.

Hat’s off to Susan Miura for taking on the age-old question that we all have to ask at one point or another in life: How can a ‘loving God’ let bad things happen to ‘good people’? Susan doesn’t give us trite platitudes or easy (unbelievable fixes to unfixable problems) but tells real and raw stories that resonate with our soul. Susan points her readers in the direction they can follow to find that peace in the midst of life’s storms.

This story was so wonderfully written, with imagery, depth of characters and twists that I never saw coming. From footsteps in the sand to a barn full of misfit animals to some Spanish sprinkled in for spice, it’s a wonderful read.