Hope Harbor
Irene Hannon
Revell, Jul 7 2015, $14.99
ISBN: 9780800724528
Since the death of his wife eighteen months ago, Michael
Hunter wallows in self-pity and loathing of God. Taking two months leave from St. Joseph
Center not for profit, Michael drives almost non-stop from Chicago to his
seaside destination, his late spouse’s hometown Hope Harbor, Oregon. Tired and frustrated to learn his motel is
closed due an electrical fire, when he steps onto a street without looking
Michael causes a cyclist to crash to avoid hitting him. At Charley’s food truck, Anna Williams thinks
the stranger looks remarkably like someone she has not seen in two decades;
thus the sexagenarian offers Michael a place to stay.
Bruised from her bike crash caused by the
daydreaming pedestrian, Widow Tracy Campbell blames God for the death of her
late husband and ignoring her furtive prayers.
At her family’s 80 acres farm Hope Harbor Cranberries, Tracy, works
alongside her uncle on the 20% of their spread dedicated to cranberries. She also provides accounting services and
volunteers at Helping Hands. After their
first encounter, the widow and widower find commonality in their anger towards
God and their grief. With help of
townsfolk like Anna, Charley and her uncle; Michael and Tracy begin to move on
from their respective deep loss as their broken spirits mend and restore their
trust in God and in love.
This leisurely-paced inspirational second chance
at faith, life and love is an engaging contemporary ironically due to the
newcomer’s invigorating impact on the townsfolk though they affect him even
more than he does them. Containing humor
mostly from Floyd the seagull and mysteriousness (Charley’s perceptiveness and
Anna’s past), readers will enjoy visiting coastal Oregon with mostly Michael,
Tracy and Anna as our guides.
Harriet Klausner
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