About the Book

Book: Just a Train Ride

Author: Elizabeth Wehman

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

Release Date: September 1, 2017

She was born during the Great Depression, dated a soldier shipped across the world into the upheavals of war. Despite the haunting scars of battle, she married that soldier when he returned. After the loss of her husband of sixty years, an annual trip to visit her grandson in Chicago always helped ease her loneliness. Yet in the face of ailing health, Callie had boarded a train and now needed to make her way back home to Michigan. She’d made the same trip many times before, yet this time it was clear to Callie it would be her last. That’s when she met Blaine. The young, agitated woman appeared to be seeking an escape which inspired Callie to remember her own struggles in life and love. Had their lives merged for a reason? They had a train ride from Chicago to Lapeer to find out.

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My Thoughts:

In Just a Train Ride the author takes us on a trip down memory lane and we get to visit what a marriage looks like through the passage of time, from courtship days, war, and on. Calllie is in her 80's and widowed, and after visiting with her grandson in Chicago, she is now returning home on the train. Callie is tired in body and soul and missing her beloved. You can feel her weariness as she travels through a congested city but there is still a hope within her soul as she looks back over her life and love.

Enter Blaine who is a young woman who is also weary in body and soul and doesn't have much going for her, not even her relationship with her boyfriend. Here we have an unlikely meeting of young and old, woman to woman, and with Blaine I was captured with the story that pours out from Callie of an example of a marriage that can and did stand the test of time.

This was an uplifiting and poignant read and I hope that through its message others will have hope of a love that can last. Don't settle for less or give up.

I received a copy of this novel from the author. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Author

Raised in Michigan, Author Elizabeth Wehman loves to incorporate cities in the state for her inspirational fiction. Famous Michigan flowers adorn the back covers of her books from peonies to lilacs and apple blossoms. Her first novel, “Under the Windowsill,” reflects the tranquility and hidden treasures of Mackinac Island for a much needed hideaway for Kenna, a young girl raised in Iowa. This coming-of-age story uses the growing pains of a quiet, country girl to reflect the dangers and unknowns of breaking away from family and security. From the frustrations of trying to make it alone, Kenna’s experience cements a permanent trust of the goodness of her past and a true hope for the future. Elizabeth’s second novel, reflects the tumultuous relationship between sisters in “Promise at Daybreak.” Two elderly sisters are forced together by illness which leads them to fulfill a pact they made at their mother’s grave. The story reflects the storms of dealing with dementia and the results of fulfilling a promise, despite its drawbacks. The setting for this novel is Elizabeth’s hometown, Durand complete with its historic depot and the thunderous noises of a train town. Both novel settings share historical and distinctive aspects of both Michigan cities. Elizabeth’s third novel, released the summer of 2017, and will be entitled, “Just a Train Ride.” All of her novels are clean reads, with a clear inspirational message for her readers. Elizabeth’s home is in Owosso. You can find more about Elizabeth at www.elizabethwehman.com or on her Facebook page – Elizabeth Wehman/Author.

More from Elizabeth

Just a Train Ride is a fictional version of my parent’s love story from the 1940’s. My father fought in WWII and he returned from his fighting experience after having a nervous breakdown. He suffered repercussions of that throughout his entire life. My mother sent off a different man than the one who returned home to her, but she was faithful to her promise to marry him. Their story and his experiences were a private matter, so I waited until after his death to write their story. Some of it is based on facts, other parts are just my imagination…filling in the details. I included the train ride as a major part, due to the fact that my mother had gone on a train to see my father just before he shipped off to war. My main purpose in writing JATR was to show how you can be faithful in marriage, despite the setbacks, sorrow, and fateful events that can ravage even the best of marriages. This is my third inspirational novel.