Customer Reviews

The Cross Gardener

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A compelling emotional read--extremely realistic. Did the author personally experience sudden tragic loss, as I have? Thoughts and actions of grieving characters are REAL.. Jason F. Wright has used "The Cross Gardener", the puzzling companion during John Bevan's grief, to help lead him and daughter Lou Lou into healing, and a new life start. Survivor's grief, a REAL aspect of loss, is just one part of John's struggle. Overcoming takes time, more difficult when alone.

Struggling alone is a theme here, but the reader must carry a part of the burden of loss. Wright's mental anguish descriptions cause that. With The Cross Gardener's help, a light can be seen despite the tunnel's length. Perhaps this book best serves those who have yet to abide their own white cross. Only the compassion-less will find it shallow. It's inspirational.

Bevan's grief is set within a Virginia apple orchard. Parallels of struggle are read in "A Grief Observed" by C. S. Lewis. In Wright's new story, Bevan, literally born among road accident wreckage, is adopted by an orchard farmer. Life is good. Love with Emma Jane blooms and a second child is expected soon. Readers are immediately drawn into this harmonious family joy, requiring the reader to make their own emotional adjustments when tragedy strikes. This is not a spoiler; this portion is on the book's dustcover. The book is about the mourning of survivors...and recovery.

Lou Lou loses the will to speak while John fails in his ability to cope. Whys? What ifs? Guilty? Angry? What next? All questions the bereaved face at any age. White apple-crate-wood crosses identify losses. Whose loss? At the accident site appears Cross Gardener, a man revealed only in sparse bits. Mysterious. A literary journey that converts to an internal experience.

Is it mystery? Is it romance? Therapy? Inspiration?
IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

John Bevan has the family he always dreamed of. He married his high school sweetheart, has a young daughter and a baby on the way. His whole life is shattered as a result of a fatal car accident. John withdraws from life as he deals with his tragic losses. He places two crosses at the scene of the accident and visits on a daily basis. One day when returning to the scene he notices a stranger painting the crosses. He engages the stranger, only known as the cross gardener, and together they begin a journey to help John heal and rediscover what's important in life. John finds that even in your darkest moments, on your saddest days and through your toughest struggles, you're never alone. There is always someone to carry you and show you the way.

I've read all of Jason's books and I think this could be his best yet. It's thought-provoking, inspirational, and spiritual but it's also a wonderful love story and has a hint of mystery. This one will stay with you long after you've closed the book and set it on the shelf.

Each and every time you drive by a roadside cross you will come back to this book. You will wonder about the lives that were lost and about the lives that were left behind. Who were they, what were their stories? It will leave you asking yourself, "Who will be my Cross Gardener and who was theirs?"

Reviewed by J.Litman (New York)
Having read The Wednesday Letters, I was anxious to read this book. It began as a very simple story of an orphan boy growing up in a loving and hard working family. The boy grows up and marries his high school sweetheart. He continues working the family apple farm. They have a child. Everything is so sweet and loving; and then tragedy strikes. The rest of the novel is about the grieving process. If you believe in the premise that no one dies alone, then you will believe in what the author tries to convey.

At times the story gets too depressing and there seems to be no hope for the main character; that is until he meets The Cross Gardener. Who is this person? Is the gardener real or imaginary? And just when you thought you knew all the answers, you are shocked into learning the truth about life, death, love, faith, and redemption. As I always believed, time heals every wound. You have just got to keep moving on!

John Bevan was born on a side of a road abandoned by his teenage mother. He grew up with one life goal sustaining him; that one day he would be part of a traditional family. He married Emma Jane and they had a daughter Lou Lou. She became pregnant, but a car accident kills her and the unborn.

John's dream shattered that day. He ignores his child and places two crosses at the spot where his spouse and his unborn died. Everyday he visits the location as he buries himself deeper into his grief. However, one day John finds a stranger painting his crosses. The painter and John talk about life and death. The Cross Gardener begins to help John heal and to remember his deceased loved ones and most important if for no reason other than in memory of Emma Jane, their living daughter as his late wife would expect nothing less from him.

This is a character driven inspirational tale that builds off the grief of why bad things happen to good people. John holds the somewhat thin story line together as his happiness turns to depression and grief when tragedy destroys his dream. With the underlying message that nobody has to walk alone especially when life is at its darkest, sub-genre fans will appreciate Jason F. Wright's strong belief to reach out; as John begins to comprehend that he left his beloved Lou Lou to walk alone.

Harriet Klausner

What a nice book to read. The Cross Gardener is a beautifully written story based on an orphaned boy who grows up in an apple orchard with a wonderful adoptive father and 2 adoptive brothers. The story begins with the death of the orphaned boys mother and ends with the life of himself. I know this sounds vague, but I really don't like giving away plots in the reviews. What I will say is that this is a very emotional book. At times the story is so sad you don't even imagine why you are reading it and at times it is so uplifting that you are thankful you are reading it. I gave it four stars because many parts of the story reminded me of the movie "What Dreams may Come" starring Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr. (great movie, I should add). This is a wonderful book with an obvious spiritual outlook to it. It is not "religious", just uplifting in a beautifully peaceful way. Nice book to pass a day away with.

If you read "The Shack" you will love this book... I read this book in two nights that is how good it was. I have never read this author but was browsing on Amazon Online... checking out recent book list... ran across this book and read incerpt. I thought about getting it but order two other books and had to buy it. Boy! I was glad. Friends are reading it , one after another. It is going thru the circuit..
Cross Gardener is a passionate but a learning book as a family goes thru the lost of love ones. How they dealt with it. Can't share much, because I would love for you to read it... love to share my books but I do hope I get this one back. Love to hear your comments if you happen to buy it.

Jason Wright reminds me of Mitch Albom in his style and subject matters. Wright's books are very easy reading, but can hit a deep emotional side. The Cross Gardener is a lovely story and I would recommend this book highly.

I am always anxious to read whatever Jason Wright publishes. I find his books to be full of a love for humanity in a time when such an approach is much needed. The Cross Gardner, like all of Wright's books, is captivating and uplifting. He is a grand story teller, who tells stories that speak to all that is good within me.

I have just finished reading the newest book for Jason F. Wright, The Cross Gardener. What a wonderful story! Mr. Wright paints with words the beautiful picture of family. He takes us on a journey through the life of a young man, John Bevan, who has known such joy, in love and belonging, and pain as he searches for answers to the untimely deaths of his young wife and son. John is far from perfect and makes many mistakes but comes to accept the fact that there is a loving God who is watching over all who live on this earth. Knowledge that paints a peace for all who have suffered the loss of loved ones moving on to the next phase of their lives.
The only thing that could make this book better was if it had come with tissues attached.

I have just finished reading "The Cross Gardener" while shedding many tears of sadness, hope, and comfort. This is a book that I will read more than once. I have loved Jason's other books, particularly "The Christmas Jars" which has inspired my husband and me to fill a jar this year.
"The Cross Gardener" is a spiritual journey which is also full of anticipation for what's on the next page.