Blog

It’s Blog Tour time for the latest book by Rebecca L. Marsh, Beyond the Broken Shore. Back to beautiful Princess Island where adult siblings, Marissa and Owen, and teenage cousins, Maisy and Charlie, battle the everyday of life. In Beyond the Broken Shore, Maisy struggles with friendships and a terrible accident while Charlie and his father, Owen, work through all the emotions of Charlie’s mother returning to the island in hopes of building a relationship with Charlie, who she abandoned so many years previous.

My thoughts about Beyond the Broken Shore

Beyond the Broken Shore is a heartfelt story that deals with everyday life in some very real ways. Parents worry about children–their physical needs and emotional needs. Marissa finds herself worried that Maisy may have tried to hurt herself. No one knows where Charlie was when he was supposed to be with Maisy. This book has all the emotions of parents standing up for their kids and wanting the best for them while also setting expectations for their children–it’s all there. And in this family, there is support. Everyone is there for one another. Still, there is a little mystery that continues nearly to the end of the book. Why is Mary Lynn–Marissa and Owen’s mom–so upset with her grandson’s mother–Charlie’s mother? Why is forgiveness or working toward forgiveness so difficult?

Like I said, this book is filled with everyday life. The characters are lifelike. They hurt and scream and cry like real people. They understand the hurt of abandonment. They understand the difficulty of forgiveness, and they understand the power of prayer.

This book is a reminder that we all go through difficult things–things that can be overcome with a little bit of love, a little help from God, and some good old-fashioned family support.

Minor Concerns

I don’t have any big concerns with Beyond the Broken Shores, but there is a little more description of how characters feel that I usually prefer. For me, I relate best to characters and immerse myself into storylines easiest when the characters’ actions allow me to determine how they feel. It allows me to feel the full emotion of the story–to understand more fully how their sadness or joy affects them. This is an opinion though. It does not go toward the author’s ability to write. And Rebecca Marsh can write. Of that, there is no question.

Official Blurb

A mother returns after years of abandonment, but can she be forgiven?

Haunted by the memory of a devastating accident that claimed the lives of her husband and oldest daughter, Marissa’s life is struck by another tragedy. Her thirteen-year-old daughter, Maisy, suffers a perilous fall under mysterious circumstances. Marissa finds herself desperately hoping her deepest fear—the loss of another child—will not be realized.

While Marissa paces the emergency room, her brother Owen searches their town on Princess Island for his son, Charlie, who hasn’t come home from school. Hours later, Charlie shows up unwilling to explain where he’s been. When he skips school a few days later and is spotted in town with a strange woman, Owen comes face to face with his own greatest fear—the return of Charlie’s mother.

As Marissa and Owen confront their worst fears and navigate the treacherous waters of the unknown, they realize that while the path forward might be fraught with pain, the potential for healing is immense.

For a story of how confronting the ghosts of our past can lead to the most unexpected of futures, Dive into Beyond the Broken Shore today!