By: Sara Brunsvold
Jodi's copy paperback 327 pages plus excerpt from The Divine Proverb of Streusel (which I've already read).
Published: 2025
Genre: Christian contemporary fiction
Oh my! We're discussing this at book club in less than an hour and I have an absolute FLURRY of post-it notes! Reading this has made me request The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip to re-read. I remember that I absolutely loved that book by Brunsvold! This one is good, even great (but that one's better).
Moria Mondell was an exacting, unemotional mother to Edie Vance. Edie has done her best in raising Lauren and Chloe, but there is definitely some distance in their relationships (as well as estrangement from Edie's sister Gabriella). When Chloe proposes a literary road trip to make memories, Edie has no idea how she will begin to examine her role as a mother.
Page 51: "Refusal played a big role in her mom's life. It had edged out rationality more than once."
Edie and Lauren are having coffee and maintaining their solid walls of propriety. Rather than accepting advice or help with her late mother's estate, Edie is placing herself in the role of a martyr who has to take care of everything herself. I recognize this role! (My mother did this a lot.)
Page 59: "She bowed her head, closed her eyes, and whispered one more time to the only ears that could hear, 'Take us where we are meant to go.'"
Though Chloe could be impulsive and too starry-eyes, she was also the most positive of the three Vance women and I loved her faithfulness to God. I love that her prayer wasn't for her own plan to work out, but for God to take them where they needed to go.
Page 61: "Thorough plans equaled thorough command. With every item she ticked, her breath steadied."
I have to admit that I didn't like Lauren very much. At times, I could empathize with her, but mostly she was just too tightly wound and controlling. Her exercising, eating disorder, stoicism, etc. got old fast. She is the LAST person I'd want to go with on a road trip!
Page 75: "Younger sisters didn't know the level of protective thinking that took place on their behalf."
Interesting . . . I should ask my older sisters if they felt this way toward me growing up. In our current stage of life, I don't feel as though they "look out" for me. But perhaps I'm just oblivious!
Page 91: "Whatever it was, she couldn't force it before its time. Light always found what was hidden. Eventually."
Here, Chloe is certain that something is deeply wrong with Lauren. But in a bigger sense, this is a powerful truism. Light will shine. The sooner, the better, in my opinion!
Page 104: "Per the ruthless menopausal curse, she had sweat through her single sheet. Even if she had spooned the air-conditioning register, the midlife maven would have brought her to such a state."
Something about the way Brunsvold wrote this just brought a smile to my face. I'm thankful my menopausal temperature issues weren't too horrible, but this made me laugh just the same. If you know, you know.
Page 117: "History was only thoughts until you could look it in the face."
The three women are at the Orphan Train Museum in Kansas. The reality of what those children experienced is powerful and overwhelming, especially for Edie.
Page 151: "Too much freedom was sacrificed on the altar of pride."
This whole scene (and what happens after with Aunt Gab) makes me glad I'm not overly prideful! The loss of relationship between Edie (Edith) and her sister Gab (Gabriella) is hurtful to Chloe, who tries to "fix" things. (The song Where the Spirit of the Lord Is, There Is Freedom is running through my mind right now.)
Page 160: "Her mom may not have realized it as they wound through the clusters of people, but the memories they would make that day would be praises that they would raise the rest of their lives. God would make sure of it. Walking in faith was an adventure like none other."
Yes! Walking in faith is a fantastic place to do life! There were many times in this book where I wondered if / when Edie and / or Lauren would ever understand the source of Chloe's joy.
Page 200: "On a road trip aimed at celebrating perspective-shaping books, her mom and sister staunchly remained the main characters in their own stories. What was the point in relishing books if you didn't allow them to lift you out of your silo? What was the point of a road trip if not discovery?"
Ooh. . . I don't think her mother or sister would have appreciated Chloe's observation had she expressed it aloud. I loved this, though. I know people who have definite "main character" energy . . .
Page 217: "Splendor always unfolded for those patient and trusting enough to wait for it."
This was when they checked in to their AirBNB, only to find that Olga was scary and they had the cramped garage, not the main house. I love Chloe's spirit of adventure, but I can also understand Edie's and Lauren's frustrations. Traveling together sometimes requires some time and space apart.
Page 239: "Shame reached its pinnacle when laid bare before a parent."
I'm not so sure I agree with this, but perhaps that's because both of my parents have been dead for a long time and I was one of their care-givers the last few years of their lives. I love that Brunsvold did a lot of family and relationship "work" in this novel. Opening the story with Edie's recollections of her mother's emotional neglect really set the tone for a lot of this book.
Page 246: "I have been a mother for thirty-two years, and I am still lost on how to do it with a modicum of wisdom. I am huddled alone on a thin bench in the punishing wake of secrets revealed, and I have no idea how to steer us to the place we need to go. How are we this far in and farther apart from each other than when we started?"
I was glad that Edie started using the journal that her husband Grant had given her at the start of the trip. Her dependence upon him was interesting. Her meditations resonate for me, though I don't really feel distant from my children.
Page 260: "Minutes, hours, days all passed with insensitive swiftness, too fast for any mother to relish them. Why hadn't she relished them while she could have?"
Chloe and Edie are riding the little tram thing to the top of the St. Louis Arch. Chloe set her timer for the duration of the ride to help Edie with her anxiety. Seeing the numbers tick down make her more cognizant of the overall passing of time. The lines above made me reflect on all my impatience and "countdown" mentality when my kids were growing up. I wish I had lived more in the moment and cherished the time I had with them then.
Page 273: "Middle school Lauren was Chloe's favorite version."
I loved that Chloe had some fond memories from their younger years! My sisters felt like different people at different times in the past.
Page 275: "Lord, I don't know what to do with all this. How do you sway stone hearts?"
Poor Chloe! She was trying so hard to encourage and to build relationship with both her sister and her mom. Thankfully, she turned to prayer - always a good choice!
Page 285-6: I'm not going to quote this, but I absolutely loved when Chloe clapped back at more of Lauren's martyrdom and how she had always had to rescue Chloe and be her safety net. Chloe's response is a powerful witness of how God is her rock and redeemer. She tells Lauren exactly how it is for her!
Page 288: I have no idea who Harold Bell Wright is or what his The Shepherd of the Hills book is about. Most of the literary references and authors were very familiar to me. I had to look this one up! It was fascinating to read on Wikipedia,
"But it was Wright's second novel, The Shepherd of the Hills, published in 1907 and set in Branson, Missouri,
that established him as a best-selling author. That book also attracted
an overwhelming number of tourists to the little-known town of Branson,
resulting in its becoming a major tourist destination."
I've never been to Branson, but of course I've heard of it. Fascinating!
Page 300: "Heat streamed through her. Not from shame or summer or sweat. From the answer to the question she didn't yet have the words to ask. Her unformed plea for grace, met before it was uttered. Their mom, in the face of her own overwhelming fear, only wanted to chase Lauren's away."
This was the scene that broke things! Chloe, then Lauren, decide to climb the tall rickety tower. When Lauren gets to the top, everything she's been holding to so tightly breaks and she sobs. Her mom climbs up the tower to comfort her! Beautiful catharsis
Page 302: "The younger generation became more enigmatic every day."
This is in response to Chloe telling her dad that mom was "a beast" and Chloe assuring her mom that it was a good thing. I've often been with Edie, not sure what the "younger generation" is talking about.
Page 306: "Truth grew heavier the longer it was withheld."
It's also true that it gets harder to express the longer you wait to express it. Even after Lauren's sobbing at the top of the tower, it takes her until later the next day to tell Chloe and then her mom about all the things that had happened to her.
Page 310: "'You are so strong, Laur. You know that?'
The response, gentle and pure, stole her breath. Then, just as quickly, it invited her to take her fill of peace."
I love how Chloe responds when Lauren finally shares about getting fired, Duncan ghosting her, not getting other job offers, etc. I love Chloe's encouragement and steadfast love for her sister.
Page 317: "Lauren had not been pretending she didn't need anyone. She truly had believed it, much like their mom had believed she wasn't worth the effort. God had helped them see. He had taken each of them by the hand and shepherded them toward where they were meant to be and what they were meant to find."
Great way to finish the road trip! When we trust in Him, He leads us well.
Page 320: "She smoothed the comforter as the memories took her back to another, simpler era, when time with the girls at home seemed to be nowhere close to running out. How fast it had all gone."
"She couldn't reach that little girl she once was. She couldn't do a thing to change her mother's choices. She couldn't take back any words or choices of her own as a mother, and there were far too many to count. But she could use the rough beginning to craft a better ending."
This whole section at the drive-in theatre with Edie's thoughts and conversation with Grant . . . touching and genuine. Life flies by, especially when measured by our children. And we cannot go back in time or impact our parents' parenting choices.
Page 324-327: This closing scene had me bawling. Beautiful. I loved it.