This is the story of Phil Reid, a lawyer who had been married, and was an alcoholic. He became a follower of Christ, changed his life, and quit drinking. His wife, Brandi, was unhappy that he no longer drank with her, was furious that he had become a Christian, and ultimately kicked him out of their home. Eventually they divorced, despite all his efforts to stay married and convert his wife.
In spite of Brandi remarrying, she has constantly made a pest of herself calling Phil when drunk, and crying for help, or money, or both. She often comes to where he lives, and makes scenes so bad the police are called. As time has gone on, she has gotten worse. Her actions have been getting more violent, including breaking into Phil’s home. Despite changing his telephone number and address, she continues tracking him down.
Allison is a lawyer at the same firm as Phil. She has liked him for a long time but has never gotten his attention, other than becoming really good friends. Then one day when they were going to share a piece of cake from the office, Phil tells her that he will never remarry because he has been divorced.
Heartbroken, Allison starts dating one of Phil’s clients, Marcus. Allison also develops a strong friendship with Marcus’ teenage daughter, Lindsay, who is pregnant. Although Lindsay really likes Allison, she isn’t ready for anyone to date her dad. At the same time Lindsay admits this, Phil seems to have changed his mind about dating, and is acting very interested in Allison.
There is a secondary story woven in here, too. It revolves around Lindsay’s pregnancy, including her boyfriend’s terrible behavior towards her. Also, Marcus’ anger about the entire situation, and the legal maneuvers he wants to pursue as punishment. Lindsay must decide if she will keep her baby, or put it up for adoption. Allison attempts to influence both Lindsay and Marcus to make the best decisions for all involved.
Does Phil desire to date Allison in a serious way, or is he just wanting to rekindle their good friendship? If Phil is serious, will Allison’s parents get past their disapproval of a divorced man marrying her? With Brandi’s behavior getting so much worse, will she physically harm Phil or Allison? Will Lindsay come to a decision that will make both her, and her dad, happy?
This story was well-written and the characters were very real. I liked all the twists and turns in the tale. It was realistic about the temptations and dilemmas Christians face while trying to live out their faith. Lindsay’s story was also very interesting, added depth to the book, and gave very good information about adoption, and the real issues a pregnant teen would need to face. The ending was very exciting!
The one thing I did question was the book cover. I wasn’t quite sure how that tied into the story-line. It doesn’t do anything to diminish the quality of the story, but it did arouse my curiosity.
This is the second book in the series “Grant us Grace.” This book is a stand-alone story. I did not read the first book, but didn’t have any problems following this story. I really enjoyed “Courage to Change,” recommend it, and give it five stars.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Hope Springs Books, in exchange for a free book review through the http://www.bookcrash.com book review program. All opinions expressed are my own, and I have not been compensated in any other manner. Despite my receiving the book free, it has not influenced my judgment, and I have given an honest opinion.
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