Into the Fire

     Heidi McCahan's debut novel Unraveled.

Lauren Carter moved to Portland, Oregon, from her home in Alaska several years ago when a mistake she made with her boyfriend Blake caused her to run away from all things loved and familiar. Finding a way to make it on her own with the help of a doctor and his wife who hired her and took her in with them, Lauren now lives in an apartment with a roommate and is traveling home engaged to a doctor and expecting her fiancé to follow her up to Alaska before they marry to meet her parents.

Her parents have no idea of the secret she's been hiding, but there's more than one secret in the Carter family, and, as it turns out, her fiancé has one of his own.

Some people react with anger to shame and embarrassment, others feel gut-wrenching guilt, and still others run from the messes they've created in order to cope. Human beings can drive themselves to isolation over mistakes made and end up making their mistakes even larger than they are. Forgiving oneself is sometimes harder than forgiving someone else for the huge hurt experienced by doing the wrong thing in desperation.

Unraveled is the story of Lauren Carter's battle with herself. The pain of her youthful indescretion grows greater when she faces the one whose heart she broke by running away. Blake has never gotten over her, and Lauren learns she's never really gotten over him either. When Lauren's life begins to unravel seemingly the moment she steps off the ferry, it continues until all the truths are exposed. Raw pain crushes hearts and somehow forgiveness needs to surface and redeem the lives so desperate for the freedom it can bring.

Personally, I think the audience for this novel lies primarily in the 20 – 30-something range although some older female readers will find it reminiscent of youthful experiences and failures. Faith is prominent but not overt because Lauren has lost hers. It's not atypical of the romance formula, and the happy ending is expected. If you enjoy that formula and the drama that comes from this age group, Unraveled by Heidi McCahan will satisfy that preference.  

Father, please bless Heidi for her efforts to be the one you designed her to be. Please give her stories to tell and direct all of her steps to honor you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.