My Thoughts on Tea with Elephants by Robin Jones Gunn

 

About:

"If you want to travel fast, go alone. If you want to travel far, go together."

African proverb

Ever since Fern Espinoza and Lily Graden met as teenagers volunteering at a conference center in Costa Rica twenty years ago, they have shared a close friendship, even though they live in different states. They can hardly believe it when their teen dream of traveling to Africa together becomes a reality. It's the trip of a lifetime--but life sure isn't what they thought it would be back when they were young.

Along with their suitcases, both women bring emotional baggage that weighs heavily on them. The two best friends slowly open up to each other about the challenges waiting for them back home. Soon they discover that the people they meet and the places they experience have the power to change their hearts--but only if they listen to the gentle lessons God is teaching them in this land of emerald tea fields, graceful giraffes, and rambunctious elephants.

Get ready for an unforgettable adventure on a safari of the heart in this vulnerable exploration of how to move forward in faith even when the future is uncertain.

My Thoughts:

This story took a long awaited and postponed dream and put it into action. Why don't two friends who met as teens do what they dreamed one summer of doing? What is stopping them from dropping everything and going to Africa? Well, life actually and I found this novel a bit daring in the way these two, especially Fern who worked through her fears and went. Even when her life upended right before the trip. 

I think young people are so very hopeful and very idealistic especially when the future is wide open. Or so it seems. Then life happens and before you know it, twenty years have passed. That is what happened to Fern when she gets the call from Lilly that the time for their adventure to Africa is now.

This was an adventure of two friends against the backdrop of Africa, getting away from it all for a bit and reconnecting, sharing life stories, and ultimately putting their lives back into focus.

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

About the Author:

Robin Jones Gunn is the bestselling and award-winning author of more than 100 books, including Tea with Elephants, the Sisterchicks series, and the Christy Miller series for teen girls. Her books have sold more than 6 million copies worldwide. Robin and her husband have two grown children and four grandchildren and live in southern California, where she co-hosts the Women Worth Knowing podcast. Learn more at RobinGunn.com.