Peace in the Storm by author Deirdre Kelley tells the often traumatic story of divorce from a drug addicted and abusive spouse. We meet Amy Alexander as she walks away from the courthouse and the battle to save her marriage. She is free of the violence and fear of her husband, Brandon. However she can't help worrying about her future and whether she is strong enough to make it on her own and take care of her two sons.
Over the next several chapters we learn about how Amy's children deal with an absent father and their memories of how Brandon hurt their mother mentally and physically. Fifteen-year-old Marshall seems to be the perfect son and student; hard working, mature, understanding, a good Christian teen. He steps into his new role as man of the house and is glad his mother no longer has to endure the bruises and the fighting. Like most seven-year-olds, Sean loves video games and playing with his friends. He struggles with the belief that since his father doesn't visit, and yelled at him for no reason, that his father must hate him.
Peace in the Storm is well written with good character development and believable dialogue. Deirdre Kelley does a good job showing the stress and fear involved when dealing with a violent, unpredictable ex-husband. She also draws a clear picture of the joy of a new beginning, of rebuilding and reaching out to help others. Throughout her struggles, Amy discovers a great strength in prayer and the new friends she makes along the way. Just when you think the Alexander family will be okay, Brandon begins harassing and threatening the family for money to support his and his girlfriend's drug habit, culminating with Sean's disappearance one day after school.
Peace in the Storm is a wonderful work of Christian fiction. I understand that in difficult times, many people lean on their faith for direction. However, I occasionally felt the religious passages pulled me from this otherwise interesting story. I recommend Peace in the Storm to those who enjoy stories of faith-inspired strength and survival. I hope to read more from
William Potter attempted his first novel at age eleven when he scribbled a few lines about a giant rampaging crab. The teen years kept his imagination in a state of unrest and he used poetry to journal personal thoughts, achievements and events of those times. He returned to his love of storytelling in his twenties, writing numerous short stories; and now in his forties, has completed two full-length novel manuscripts. Lighting the Dark Side-Six Modern Tales represents his work from the past several years and is his first published book. The collection received the Editor's Choice Award for short stories from AllBooks Review International in 2009. William resides in New Westminster, Canada with his wife and two children.
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