My Fathers House Book Review

I picked My Father's House: a novel by Rose Chandler Johnson even though I had some hesitation because it didn't look like a happy book.  I keep picking these books that look really serious and I thought that I should get some lighter reading for the summer.  I am glad that I fought the urge and got this book even with the heavy subject matter because it was a great book!!  I had trouble putting it down and going to sleep but it was a great story!

Growing up, life is idyllic for Lily Rose Cates due to one constant – her father’s love. But in her sixteenth summer, all that changes without warning. There begins Lily’s struggle to find herself and the life she’s lost. . . . Marriage promises fulfillment, but her happily-ever-after barely survives the honeymoon. Her husband’s sophisticated façade hides a brooding man with even darker secrets. When all illusions shatter, Lily must make hard choices – abandon her husband or risk losing much more than her marriage. She flees their home in Detroit and sets out on a fearful journey to a house in Georgia that her husband knows nothing about. This is one woman’s compelling tale of love and survival as she finds her way back home to who she’s meant to be . . . in her father’s house. "...had it not been for Annie Ruth, I would have ended up right there rocking on the front porch beside Mama. Annie Ruth took care of me. She and Mr. John drove up in his dusty pickup truck every morning at six o'clock. She got out and came in, bringing her life and soul into the house...We were her cherished charges, and I was like her own." --My Father's House

This book was hard to put down because I had to find out what was going to happen next.  Lily Rose is working on making her life complete after loosing her father and her anchor in her life.  She works hard through college and makes many close friends but her life is still not settled as all of her friends are settling down and having families.  Lily jumped at her first serious relationship and ended up in a difficult and abusive marriage.  I don't think that it was stressed as much how hard it was to leave her husband because of her religious beliefs but you could tell that she had made a very tough decision to leave him and try to move on with her life.  The wonderful southern charm of the small town that she chooses to hide out in is essential to the story and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what other stories are going to unfold.  You will be amazed when you pick up this book and see all the action that happens and you will be pulling for Lily Rose too.  I hope that you check out this book for yourself because I know that you will enjoy it as much as I did.

**I was provided a copy of the book for my review and honest opinion.  All opinions here are my own.