Miss Alice has fallen down the rabbit hole. At least that’s how Alice Ferguson
feels when she finds herself 40, pregnant, and living in Nashville – thousands
of miles and a lifestyle away from her fast-paced vocation as a
career-destroying tabloid editor from LA.
Because of complications due to the pregnancy, Alice
determined that it would be best to move in with the baby’s father, a
Southern-bred doctor determined to do right by her – and anxious to keep an eye
on their baby.
But the move from the City of Angels to the heart of
Tennessee isn’t sitting well with this west coast mover and shaker. The switch from rubbing shoulders with
the Hollywood elite to bed rest and baby showers is a hard adjustment.
And then there are the neighbors, Pastor Tim and LeChelle
Jackson with their bevy of kids. When Alice’s doting fiancé is out of town, she
ambles over to the Jackson’s for LeChelle’s down home cuisine, and basks in the
family’s love for one another – a love she had always longed for.
But along with the meals comes a generous slice of
conviction from Tim. Gentle and
affirming, he also desires Alice to come to grips with her life and prods her
to examine her relationship with God.
Finally, after successfully dodging several invitations to attend church
with them, Alice gives in – if only to get them off her back.
One Sunday by
Carrie Gerlach Cecil lays open the heart of a very lost, confused, and utterly
wounded woman who hides her hurt beneath success and sarcasm. Alice seems to have her life under
control – even with an unplanned pregnancy, but as she sits through the Sunday
service on the back pew of Bethel Church, memories she had buried begin to work
their way to the surface, and she is faced with the pain caused by the life
behind her and by the burden of choices she made.
Cecil crafts this story brilliantly. Alternating between Alice’s acerbic
analysis of each section of the Sunday morning service and flashbacks of her
traumatic childhood and insecurity-driven adulthood, One Sunday allows us to look into a suffering soul who is trying to
make sense of this Jesus thing.
One Sunday is
never heavy handed. Alice is a
delight as a sarcastic, eye-rolling, self-centered mess. I absolutely love her snarky attitude
and her play-by-play of a contemporary Sunday go-to-meeting. She made me laugh - and made me hurt for
her too. Alice’s journey back to
God is authentic and at times earthy.
It is believable.
A novel with hope and humor, One Sunday will touch your heart with its story of grace and
redemption.
A courtesy copy of One
Sunday was received from Howard Books in exchange for an honest review.
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