February 25, 2013
Readers will find a unique blend of Walsh’s signature storytelling (The Reunion) and Smalley’s marriage advice (The DNA of Relationships) in this first of the four-book Restoration Series. Marilyn Anderson, after 27 years of marriage, leaves her husband. “I’ve dropped hint after hint, clue after clue,” she says in her note. Jim, a successful businessman, is clueless, but, once over his anger, he begins soul-searching with help from his children and retired dance instructor Audrey Windsor. Marilyn, meanwhile, finds a job and a roommate and begins dance lessons. Throw in a well-meaning uncle, their daughter Michele’s wedding, their sons’ questions, a demanding church deacon, a dashing dance instructor, and a hurricane, and readers will definitely come away satisfied and shedding tears at the end. Mixing fiction’s emotion and nonfiction’s teaching works splendidly here. Supplemental interview material and discussion questions add depth. Walsh’s agent: Karen Solem, Spencerhill Associates.
April 1, 2013
Renowned relationship-expert Smalley joins with award-winning novelist Walsh to create a heart-wrenching portrait of a painful marriage. The story of Jim and Marilyn Anderson feels as true as any real couple's, thanks to Smalley's years as a counselor and Walsh's excellent attention to detail. Like many women, Marilyn, decades into her marriage, finds herself feeling unloved and disconnected from her husband. Jim prides himself on being the head of his home in a biblical manner, and he's shocked and furious when he discovers that Marilyn has decided to leave him. What will their grown children think? How will their community accept it? Jim's world has crumbled, while Marilyn has rebuilt hers. Then, on separate paths, Marilyn and Jim both begin to find healing through ballroom dancing. Jim hopes to win Marilyn back, but her heart may be far too hardened after years of neglect. Readers will be totally drawn into their emotional journey as the wounds, large and small, continue to reveal themselves in the Andersons' marriage.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)