Mercy Come Morning by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Mercy Come Morning (Previously Released as Christmas Every Morning)
By Lisa Tawn Bergren
Published by WaterBrook Press

Mercy Come Morning is the story of one woman’s struggle to overcome a very painful past and find some semblance of closure with her mother, who’s at the center of it all.

The last thing Krista Mueller wants to do is return home. Its been years since she last faced her estranged mother Charlotte; but when she receives an adamant request from childhood friend Dan McConnell, she knows she must return. Charlotte who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease is dying of congestive heart failure, and there is little time remaining.

Returning to Taos, New Mexico is a conflicting experience for Krista. The place itself is magical; alive with deep and vivid color, fragrant scents, and the rhythm of music. But her memories of loneliness, abandonment and abuse, overwhelm her. Patient and kind, Dane does his best to coax her into achieving the closure he knows she needs so she won’t spend the rest of her life burdened by regret.

When Krista is given an old “journal” of her mothers, she’s afforded a never before seen glimpse into her mothers thoughts, before and during the onset of Alzheimer’s. These insights, along with the love and support of her friends, awaken things long buried and leads Krista to a life-changing conclusion.

While written for a general audience, Mercy Come Morning will be particularly poignant for those who have friends or loved ones suffering with Alzheimer’s or other forms of Dementia. Bergren does an amazing job developing her two leading female characters and the chasm that has been built between them, making forgiveness seemingly impossible. As someone who has wrestled with similar circumstances, this book rang true and honest in its depiction of the struggle, and I found the close incredibly satisfying.

Read Chapter One of Mercy Come Morning here: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/2011/04/19/sneak-peek-mercy-come-morning-by-lisa-tawn-bergren/

I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group as part of their BloggingForBooks program. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own.