I groped in my
pocket for the scissors and for an anxious moment I thought I’d lost them. When
my fingers hit metal deep in the pouch I pulled them out into the light. The
sky was a study in grays but still the blades took on a gleam, begging me to
press them against my skin. I sat on the rocky ground, back against the stone
tower, and pushed up my sleeve. Gooseflesh spread in the chill air, forcing the
hairs to attention. I turned my arm over and studied the red-yarn scar on my
wrist. Got on relief from that one, did ya? Pain sizzled through me. That
couldn’t be. Something had to let the hopelessness out. It had to.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Target Audience: Girls 17+
Subjects: Cutting, Post Traumatic
Stress Syndrome, Repressed Memories, Therapy, Family Relationships, Hope
Summary: The night she expects him to
propose she sees him with her best friend. Embracing her. Instead of a proposal
she gets a betrayal. As if she hasn’t faced enough in her life already, the two
she is closest two betray her. So she resorts to her usual method of letting
the pain out – cutting. She doesn’t intend to do anything different than
normal, but when he breaks in, the cut goes deep and she’s rushed off to the
emergency room and then to a mental hospital with everyone declaring her
suicidal. Her absentee mom appears on the scene and threatens to tell her
father unless she gets help. So she blindly agrees to pursue the contact the
chaplain recommends, having no idea that she just agreed to go work on a sheep
farm! Sister Frankie is not into stereotypical ideas of therapy, she’s into
healing, letting God work on a heart and giving someone opportunities to
remember and deal with their hurts.
Notes: Merciful scars is the story
of three people dealing with deep pain and their journeys to healing. One young
woman has dealt with a lot of dysfunctional family issues including a sister
who is mentally handicapped and parents who don’t seem to love her or her
sister. One woman served a tour in Iraq and had a best friend get killed and
deals with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome as a result. One boy watched a horrid
crime against his own mother when he was a young child and has forgotten what
happened, and only has a vague sense of needing to avoid the one who loves him
most. Each of these three have to learn to put their trust in God, recognizing
that only He can heal the hurt and pain they are dealing with on a daily basis.
The spiritual emphasis is the focus of the whole book. It’s not a focus on the
despair the characters have faced, it’s a focus on the hope and healing that
can come from a relationship with Jesus. I highly recommend this book as well
as all authors by this author.
Spiritual Content Recommendation
Scale: 5/5
Reviewer: J:-)mi
Malachi 4:2 – But
for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness
will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.
Psalm 95:7-8 – For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the
flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts
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