Published by Integrity Publishing

David Parst is a popular preacher of a growing and "important" church in a St. Louis suburb. He has a quiet but loving wife and a son who adores him. Unfortunately, David’s listened to one too many people speak highly of him and his abilities and has come to believe his own press.

Believing he should have even more than he does, he makes a colossal, stupendous, hideously stupid mistake. This mistake—one made way too often by Christian men and women in the real world—is quickly revealed and David’s life comes crashing down.

It’s not just David’s life that is wrecked, though. His actions have managed to wreck the lives of his son and his wife. As David tries to put the pieces back together, the people he cares about most want nothing to do with him. The book delves into the ensuing years and the tremendous number of consequences wrought by a short period of succumbing to sin.

The Writing

James Jordan has crafted a story about sin and forgiveness; how sin can destroy more lives than just that of the sinner and how forgiveness can give life back.

Jordan is careful to detail that forgiveness does not always come quickly and rarely comes easily—especially when the hurt is so personal. Jordan is so meticulous in detailing the real-world trial of forgiving that the experience is extremely painful and taxing for the reader. Just when the reader thinks things are starting to turn around, the long-lasting effect of the original (as far as this novel is concerned) sin keeps rearing its ugly head.

Jordan is a good writer and this book would be a great read for anyone having a hard time dealing with forgiveness. The consequences of the sin are so graphic that it’s hard to imagine someone already battling with forgiveness issues making their way all the way through it, though. It will be so convicting—or they’ll have convinced themselves that they’re not as bad as the people in this story—that I can see them having difficulty completing the journey.

Maybe this book will minister to someone on the other end; someone who has forgiven another person but has yet to receive any reciprocal grace. This book will help provide them with hope that the person who still holds the grievance against them will someday—through the grace of God—come around.

Other people who should read this book are those (of us) who are getting close to a sin and listening to Satan’s lie that—even if we’re found out—the repercussions won’t be that bad. Of course, no one ever thinks they’ll get caught, but that’s another novel.

Other Thoughts

We’ve all heard about "the sins of the father" and how they are visited on his children and grandchildren. This is, essentially, a long novel based on that concept. Too long, for my tastes. Jordan goes to such great lengths to make the reader feel the consequences of the father’s sins, and does such a good job of writing about it, that it made this reader want to bail. Like Ebeneezer Scrooge begging, "Let me see some goodness in this world," I wanted some glimmer that the characters were learning from their experiences but it took a long time before I was convinced they did. Call it realism—and I know a real life tragedy such as the one depicted here would have been even more painful—but by the time this novel got to the uplift I was so weary I didn’t care.