"waiting for morning" by karen kingsbury

About the book: Hannah Ryan's idyllic life is shattered the moment a drunk driver careens into the vehicle bringing her husband and two daughters home from a camping trip. After her husband and oldest daughter die from injuries sustained in the crash, Hannah makes it her life's mission to ensure the drunk driver pays for what he did.

Deputy District Attorney Matt Bronzan specializes in drunk driving cases, and with his latest case, he hopes to make history by winning California's first murder one conviction of a drunk driver. He works closely with Hannah to ensure their message to the public is the same—that drunk drivers who kill are committing murder. As he spends time with her, he comes to care for her—but all she can see is her hatred for the man who killed her husband and daughter.

Hannah's bitterness threatens to destroy the only good things left in her life. Will she understand her need to forgive before it's too late?

My take: In Waiting for Morning, Karen Kingsbury has written a heartbreaking family drama with a powerful message about the perils of drunk driving. More importantly, though, she shows how bitterness can take root and destroy lives. As Hannah allows bitterness to take over her life, she can't see how her unforgiveness is harming herself and her remaining daughter. And isn't that the way it works? We refuse to forgive because we feel we have a right to our anger ... and then before we know it, we're so wrapped up in our pain that we've strained or ruined our other relationships. Obviously, I speak from experience here—and I hope that by reading this book, others can avoid some of the mistakes I made!

This is one of Kingsbury's earlier books, and I can't believe it took me to long to finally read it. It was published in 1999, well before everyone had cell phones. That's the only thing that seems to date it, though—a couple times I wondered why Hannah didn't just call her daughter's cell, and then I'd remember that they didn't have them! Overall, this is a great book, and I highly recommend it. 5 stars.

Read an excerpt.
Buy the book.
See what other bloggers are saying (including my friend Holly).

About the author: No. 1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Kingsbury is America's favorite inspirational novelist. There are nearly 20 million copies of her award-winning books in print, including several million copies sold in the past year. Karen has written more than 50 novels, ten of which have hit #1 on national lists.

Dubbed by Time Magazine as the Queen of Christian Fiction, Karen has also been a featured guest on the Today Show, Fox News, USA Today, and numerous other television programs and magazines. Her fiction has made her one of the country's favorite storytellers. Others of her emotionally gripping titles include the 9-11 Series, Even Now, Ever After, and Between Sundays.

Karen is also a public speaker, reaching more than 100,000 women annually through various national events. Karen and her husband, Don, live in Nashville, TN with their five sons, three of whom are adopted from Haiti. Their daughter Kelsey is an actress who has appeared in several Christian films. She is newly married to Christian recording artist Kyle Kupecky. The two also live in Nashville.

Visit Karen's website at www.KarenKingsbury.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."