Monday, June 5, 2017

Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway: Sailing Out of Darkness by Normandie Fischer


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About the Book
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Book: Sailing out of Darkness
Author: Normandie Fischer
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Release Date: February 25, 2017 (2nd Edition)

Love conquers all? Maybe for some people.

When Samantha fliehs to Italy to gain distance from a disastrous affair with her childhood best friend, the last thing on her mind is romance. But Teo Anderson is nothing like her philandering ex-husband or her sailing buddy, Jack, who, despite his live-in girlfriend, caught her off guard with his flashing black eyes.

Teo has his own scars, both physical and emotional, that he represses by writing mysteries—until one strange and compelling vision comes to life in the person of Sam. Seeking answers, he offers friendship to this obviously hurting woman, a friendship that threatens to upend his fragile peace of mind.

But not even sailing the cobalt waters of the Mediterranean can assuage Sam’s guilt for destroying Jack’s relationship and hurting another woman. Soon the consequences of her behavior escalate, and the fallout threatens them all.

Sailing out of Darkness is the haunting story of mistakes and loss…and the grace that abounds through forgiveness.

Awarded: Aspen Gold, Selah, and Maggie Finalist 2014 (1st edition)

My Thoughts:


Sailing Out of Darkness takes on the difficult topic of divorce and its destructive aftermath. Samantha has been married for at least 20 years to her husband, had a set of twins with him, and then he decides to leave her for a much younger woman. Not only just leave her but tell her he never loved her. What a devastating blow that had on Samantha even if she didn’t see all the rippling affects that would cause her.

I liked Samantha and I really felt for her as she tried to pull herself up out of the pit and move on with her life. She was a very successful business woman and was doing well for herself until Jack, a childhood friend steps back into her life. And with Jack she makes some really bad decisions. I think after some time passed after her divorce, Sam wanted to feel loved and needed and Jack was more than willing to fill in any and all of the voids. Except the collateral damage from that relationship was Jack’s live-in girlfriend, India.

We are not eye witnesses to the affair of Jack and Sam and the blow up caused by India, we see these periods of time through regrets and memories that won’t stay buried in Sam’s mind’s eye. She is experiencing some scary incidents at her home and boat, the Alice, which are menacing in nature, but she knows she has hurt India immensely so it seems she is reluctant to point fingers. Instead, Sam takes a long desired trip to Italy to visit her daughter and to just get away for a while.

In Italy she meets Teo who is an American mystery writer who is healing from scars of his own and has seen the ugliness of divorce as well. He and Sam strike up a friendship which has the promise of becoming something more for both of these scarred individuals.

We get the points of view from Sam, Teo, and Jack at times. Jack’s pov provides us with the news of the home front. This story for me was an emotional read as Sam’s loneliness really reached out. It also took twists and turns that I was unprepared for and as I read late into the night I was surprised at some of the shocking revelations. This is an adult read and it deals with sensitive topics, (that may be difficult for some), but through it all there is a thread of hope and a promise for a truer love.

I received a copy of this book for free. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions expressed are my own.


About the Author


Normandie Fischer is a sailor who writes and a writer who sails. After studying sculpture in Italy, she returned to the States, graduated suma cum laude, and went to work in the publishing field as an editor. She and her husband retired from cruising Pacific Mexico on their 50-foot ketch, Sea Venture, to care of her aging mother and enjoy her two grown children and her grandchildren. She is the author of six books: Becalmed (2013), Heavy Weather (2015), Twilight Christmas (2016), Two from Isaac’s House (2015), From Fire into Fire (2016), and Sailing out of Darkness (2013 and 2017).

Guest Post from Normandie Fischer


In Sailing out of Darkness, the female protagonist longs for something, anything that will validate her after her husband leaves. She’s propelled into such an emotional wasteland that she becomes vulnerable to what seems a safe friendship.

It isn’t. And so she flees to Italy, but the repercussions of her actions continue to affect her and others—as consequences are wont to do.

After my divorce, hurting women seemed to flock to my vicinity. (Either that, or suddenly husbands in the church were leaving in droves.) These were abandoned women, angry women, women searching for love in the wrong places. I wasn’t in any shape to minister to them as I too was struggling at the cross, but that period helped me understand how woefully ignorant and unprepared many church goers are when it comes to hearing the cries of the hurting. I know of two women (to whom I dedicated the book) who actually killed themselves because no one listened or reached out a hand when they needed it.

The process of divorce and healing taught me about grace in a way that I’d never fully internalized. I’d ministered and counseled for years about the Love of God. I’d preached and written about it, but part of me, the part that needed healing, still held on to the idea that I had to be perfect to be loved by God and by man. I knew better, but the heart and the head weren’t working well together, especially during my years of living with an alcoholic husband and during divorce recovery after he left. As I wrote about Sam’s guilt and helped her find peace, I think new pieces slid into place for me as well. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from the love of God. And that’s probably the most powerful message we have to share with this hurting world

Blog Stops

June 1: Genesis 5020
June 5: By The Book
June 6: Book by Book
June 7: Carpe Diem
June 11: Bigreadersite
June 11: The Power of Words (spotlight)

Giveaway



To celebrate her tour, Normandie is giving away a Kindle! Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/b630

1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review Sailing out of Darkness and for sharing your thoughts with your readers. Bless you for your kind words.

    ReplyDelete