When the Morning Glory Blooms

GIVEAWAY

RUCHTI, CYNTHIA

WHEN THE MORNING GLORY BLOOMS

Becky rocks a baby that rocker her world. Sixty years earlier, with her fiance Drew in the middle of the Korean Conflict, Ivy throws herself into her work at a nursing home to keep her sanity and provide for the child Drew doesn't know is coming. Ivy cares for Anna, an elderly patient who taxes Ivy's listening ear until the day she suspects Anna's tall tales are not the ramblings of dementia. They're fragments of Anna's disjointed memories of a remarkable life. Finding a faint thread of hope she can't resist tugging, Ivy records Anna's memoir, scribbling furiously after hours to keep up with the woman's emotion-packed, grace-hemmed stories. Is Ivy's answer buried in Anna's past? Becky, Ivy, Anna -- three women fight a tangled vine of deception in search of the blossoming simplicity of truth.

My Review:

published in 2013

A quiet, gentle story about hope and the simplicity of truth. And that doesn't mean this is an uneventful novel -- it's just that the ambiance is almost reverential in the way these heroines' stories play out. And discovering the connections between 1890s Anna, 1960s Ivy and present day Becky gave me all kinds of chills and thrills. 

When the Morning Glory Blooms was dual timeline before that became a thing -- well triple timeline, really. Each heroine's story is equally compelling and I have to say the way the author brings a unique, era-appropriate voice to each woman gives so much depth to the characterization. 

Anna, Ivy and Becky are all facing the same challenges in different timelines -- and they each battle social pressures and judgment as they strive to find the blessings amidst impossible hardship. Definitely a sobering read but it is fused together with lighter moments too. And so many spine-tingling faith moments! And the significance of the morning glories -- honestly, I can't even. Moved me to tears and made me laugh and jump for joy too. Such a brilliant, unassuming tie-in.

I listened to the audible edition narrated by Melinda Sward who really breathed life into these multi-generational characters. Perfect match of storyteller and recording artist. 

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy copy -- winner's choice

If you would like a chance to win a copy of When the Morning Glory Blooms, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add your email to a comment, remember to use AT AND DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday October 23 2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!