Feathers of Hope - (Shades of Light) by Sharon Garlough Brown (Paperback)

About the Book

In a season of loss and change, Wren Crawford and Katherine Rhodes share the journey as companions in sorrow and hope. In this sequel to Shades of Light and Remember Me, fans of the Sensible Shoes series will not only be able to attend Katherine's final retreat sessions at New Hope but also encounter old and new friends along the way.

Book Synopsis

In a season of loss and change, Wren Crawford and Katherine Rhodes share the journey as companions in sorrow and hope. In this sequel to Shades of Light and Remember Me, fans of the Sensible Shoes series will not only be able to attend Katherine's final retreat sessions at New Hope but also encounter old and new friends along the way.

Review Quotes

"Feathers of Hope is a beautifully honest work. It is unflinching in its approach to the unspoken and uncomfortable. In Brown's fearless naming of these truths, we are reminded that we are not alone in our suffering. It's a portrait of how messy healing can be, but also a blueprint on how to keep God the guiding light throughout. Brown's work embodies the journey of how to heal gently, love generously, and be well. Returning to her characters and their healing journeys was such a gift-like spending a rainy afternoon by the fire with a warm mug of tea and that one friend who truly gets you."

"Feathers of Hope is a return to characters we've already allowed space for in our hearts. It's a difficult story, one with plenty of loss and regret and resentment threaded throughout. But more than anything, it's a love story-love that perseveres, forgives, uplifts, and overcomes. It's a story of a more excellent way. In her signature gentle style, Brown invites us once again into the lives of Kit and Wren. This is a story I sorely needed, and I suspect I'm not the only one. What a timely, powerful, revealing novel!"

"As in her other wonderful novels, Sharon Garlough Brown draws us close to well-known and loved characters who communicate, once more, spiritual truths in their words and actions. This is a timely book for our times as we grapple with issues of diversity and race and justice, while at the same time being shepherded more deeply into the heart of God. Expect to broaden your understanding and feel a deeper longing when you read this wonderful book."

"Because people of all ages have experienced suffering, loss, fear, and transition recently, I am grateful for Sharon Garlough Brown's newest novel Feathers of Hope. I found great beauty in this book's authenticity-the people, struggles, hard conversations, and faith-even identifying with Wren in my own small work to bring a flicker of light to isolated nursing home residents this past year. Brown's exquisite and tender writing may evoke tears, especially in realizing how much a faithful, quiet, and often hidden life of service can be used by God to change others forever. Perhaps you don't read many stories where the protagonists are this transparent, flawed, and humble enough to move forward in grace and mercy, where new red feathers grow back on seemingly bald and battered birds, offering hope. If so, start with this one."

"In Feathers of Hope, Sharon Garlough Brown brilliantly portrays mental illness in a gentle and heartbreaking way as young Wren continues on her path toward healing from deep depression. We also glimpse the bare humanity of Wren's great-aunt and housemate, Katherine Rhodes, as she navigates her impending retirement from directing the New Hope Retreat Center. Feathers of Hope tells a story of shedding the old to bring forth the new, giving hope to all of us who are confronted with our deep humanity and sinfulness after days or decades of our own sacred journey. A poignant, deeply personal, and relevant story for such a time as this."

"In her novel Feathers of Hope, Sharon Garlough Brown sensitively portrays the struggles we're all familiar with-grief, loss, forgiveness, and trust in God during seasons of change. Subtly woven into her story and characters are valuable spiritual resources we can apply to our own journeys of recovery. As always in her beautiful novels, hope triumphs."

"One of the things I love most about Sharon Garlough Brown's writing and her beautifully and transparently written cast of characters, is that I'm actually learning and changing as I read a gripping story. Feathers of Hope, like all her work, is edifying and entertaining. Brown has found the perfect balance of these elements in her spiritual fiction. I see how her characters-who now feel like old friends as they occasionally resurface from book to book-search, pray, yearn, breathe deeply to calm and center, reconcile, hurt, and heal each other. I always feel grateful to be a reader at the same time Brown is a writer. More, please."

"Sharon has done it again and has written another Holy Spirit-led book. Feathers of Hope addresses many hard realities through the eyes of a narrative. Sharon invites us to have real dialogue around the issues of racism, family dysfunction, socioeconomic disparity, work difficulties, and mental illness, all while deeply rooting it in Christ. She blesses us with a look at the underbelly of life as she reveals real hope through the healing and reconciliation that Christ can bring. The story shows how forgiveness and daily spiritual practices anchor souls, taking us into the emotional and spiritual life where both pain and beauty exist. If you are looking for a realistic view of how anxiety and depression are part of the human experience, this is the book you want to read."

"We need good stories. They can serve as guides to a way of living more rooted in reality. In Feathers of Hope, Sharon Garlough Brown has given us a story that can serve as mirror in which we see ourselves and others with more kindness and insight. I'm confident you'll find words of grace and truth as you read."

"When a book about grief and pain turns out to be a life-giving gift, you know you are listening to the voice of Sharon Garlough Brown. Feathers of Hope embodies what its characters call the grace-filled 'stewarding of affliction.' Whether we face racial conflict or mental health challenges, our instinct is to avoid pain-and also to avoid those bearing that pain. This book cuts against the cultural grain and stands with the suffering Christ, blessing and bringing light to those who dwell in darkness."

About the Author

Sharon Garlough Brown is a spiritual director, speaker, and cofounder of Abiding Way Ministries, providing spiritual formation retreats and resources. She is the author of the bestselling Sensible Shoes Series of novels, which includes Sensible Shoes, Two Steps Forward, Barefoot, An Extra Mile, and their study guides.