Family ties are God’s great gift for teaching us how to get along. If I had never had children, I would imagine all sorts of good things about myself that are not true—that I am patient and unselfish, tolerant and quick to forgive. Living in close proximity with four sons, a mortal husband, and a very large dog for a couple of decades was as revelatory as a seminary-level course in biblical anthropology: I’m a sinner!
Of course, the truth is that sinners are the only thing families can be made of for the time being, because that’s all we’ve got to work with. Living with other sinners is a refining fire. It’s a crash course in forgiveness.
When we forgive, we discover how to start over, how to fall back and regroup relationally. This is also how we receive God’s love and forgiveness for our many failures.
Living with other sinners is a refining fire. It’s a crash course in forgiveness.
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Kendra Broekhuis’s novel Nearly Beloved explores the definition and the inherent detriments of life in a family. A whimsical foray into DNA testing launches protagonist Dylan Turner into sudden turmoil. She leaves behind her carefully constructed fortress of routine in search of answers, but the complexity she uncovers will keep readers turning pages to the story’s conclusion.
She is accompanied on her journey of self-discovery by friends, some of whose help she learns to question—and some she finds that she can trust.
In her struggle to understand the role of DNA in defining what family means, a friendly coworker counters with an insightful question: “Is family the people who know and love you or people who cause a lot of chaos and pain? Or maybe a complicated mix of both?” Broekhuis’s deft prose and strong character development have enabled her to weave the complications of a nonpaternity event alongside routine young-adult angst without weighing down the narrative flow. Readers will smile at her use of emails, journal entries, texts, and interview transcripts to carry the story of Dylan’s quest for the truth about her true family.
What Other Reviewers Are Saying
Broekhuis keeps the bombshells coming in this story chock-full of surprises and twisty turns, until you arrive at the unexpected conclusion.”—Linda MacKillop, Christy Award–winning author of The Forgotten Life of Eva Gordon
A beautifully told journey of unraveling and rebuilding that will linger long after the final page.”—Amanda Cox, award-winning author of The Bitter End Birding Society
Holding You in the Light,
In Nearly Beloved, Kendra Broekhuis’s deft prose and strong character development have enabled her to weave the complications of an NPE alongside routine young-adult angst without weighing down the narrative flow. @WaterBrookPress
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Many thanks to Waterbrook for providing an advance readers’ copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.
Living Our Days 
Oh yes, dealing with family can be very humbling!
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