Review of “A Breath of Hope” by Lauraine Snelling
“Under Northern Skies” Series–Book 2
” A Breath of Hope” is what Signe Carlson is feeling as Spring comes to Minnesota and with it news that her sister-in-law and brother-in-law are being invited by Uncle Einar and Gerd to come from Norway to live and work on the farm. This is a dream come true for Nilda Carlson and her brother, Ivar who have been working hard to save enough money to make the trip and also for Signe and Rune who can use the extra help with their heavy workload put on them by Uncle Einar.
Einar is still overbearing and rude, even though Signe, Rune, and the boys try their hardest to please him, but Gerd has softened in her attitude and is becoming healthier, much to Signe’s delight.
Rune is trying his best to build his own home to house his family but Uncle Einar is not helpful at all and so demanding upon his time that it is difficult.
Will Uncle Einar ever change? They all wonder that daily. Signe has been praying for him but finds her faith and hope is beginning to weaken as she sees no results. Rune is at the point of exasperation and his patience is wearing thin. What will it take to change Einar? Will he ever think of them as family instead of just slaves? Was he always this heartless? What happened to him to cause him to be so hateful?
The Carlsons try to keep moving forward in faith, hope and love as a family even though Einar’s bad spirit dampens every occasion when he is present.
Hopefully, with the arrival of Nilda and Ivar, the work will get easier and the family will have more time to enjoy life and each other, and hopefully get their new home built so they don’t need to live under Einar’s roof any longer.
This book two shows us what can happen to a person when they hold onto the past and let themselves become buried in anger, bitterness and greed. It also shows us that the only one that can change a person is God, and that we can only pray for them, as we treat them with kindness and try to love them as God does, hoping that they will come to repentance and seek God’s help.
(I received this book from Bethany House Publishers but was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my own.)
–Leona J. Atkinson