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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Yes, we want so much for everything to be okay and the disappointment can be devastating when it’s not.
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Michelle,
Thanks for stopping by! Yes, I am embracing Winter as I love Winter…I do much better physically i the Winter due to my auto immune issues… Family can be your best friends and even sometimes your worst enemies I have found in my life time…I have had to cut ties with several family members in past years…I hope you are having a great week!!
Hugs.
Deb
Debbie-Dabble Blog
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There seems to be an embedded assumption that sharing DNA means you must always forgive and forget, regardless the offenses. My long time solution is to be willing to love some folks from a distance. No hard feelings. Just no interactions. Sometimes I think the opposition likes to use certain Scriptures like weapons against us, to keep us tamped down. Loving your neighbor as yourself does not mean you have to love the serial killer next door. 😂
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Absolutely true. Good, healthy boundaries are essential—and sometimes they need to be reinforced with razor wire!
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“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. ”
You always say it with such honesty and grace! ~ Rosie
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You are a true friend to make a virtue out of my bluntness! 😆
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Our offspring can certainly bring out the best and worst in us, can’t they?
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Oh, well said!
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I never realized how thoroughly selfish I was until I had children. Even the best of families are going to have sin natures bumping into each other. How we need God’s grace.
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My experience exactly!
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Family is always a challenge, and sometimes that challenge is ourselves 🙂 Family is revelatory, most often shining the light where we are in need of changing. And it is for sure, a crash course in forgiveness but it helps when we remember how often we are in need of forgiveness. I appreciated thinking on this in the early morning light today!
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So happy to have you thinking about these things with me! And I agree—at all stages of parenting, our kids reveal us for who we truly are.
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Michele, I love the title of this book, and the storyline intrigues me too. I agree that living with other people shines a spotlight on our status as sinners and gives us ample opportunities to forgive. I don’t know how it is for anyone else, but that spotlight hasn’t gone away now that I’m an empty nester most of the year. Parenting young adults is revealing a different batch of issues I need to work on. I guess this shouldn’t surprise me … we’re all works in progress until God calls us home, right?
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The chapter headings are just as clever as the title.
And somehow today, I am encouraged to be reminded that I am a work in progress. There’s still hope!
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Another intriguing book recommendation, Michele! I think next Christmas I’ll ask for more reading time! 😁
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That sounds like something we’d all love to put on our list!
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