Guarded [Paperback]

Kirsten Lasinski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2005

Forty-one year-old Emily Blyton should be content; she has a job she loves, a beautiful home, and countless friends in the quaint mountain community of Murray, Colorado. On the other hand, she also has an estranged daughter who lives in New York, an ex-husband she hasn’t spoken to in years, and a past full of painful memories she can’t erase. When Emily discovers that she was adopted, her carefully arranged world comes apart.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

At 41, Emily Blyton has made a life for herself as a stained-glass artist in a Colorado town catering to tourists. But her husband abandoned her long ago, and her daughter, an artist in New York, barely speaks to her. Accidentally, Emily discovers that she was adopted and learns her birth family's name. Badly shaken, she heads off to New York to connect the dots of her past--really, to look for a father. Several other characters also are looking for fathers in a story that's short on responsible men, suggesting, on the one hand, that women must rely on themselves; on the other hand, God is the father they are looking for, and the several seeming coincidences that move Lasinki's creaky plot along turn out to represent interventions on the part of the omniscient father. John Mort
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802455689
• ISBN-13: 978-0802455680
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,470,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars powerful, July 2, 2010

By 

Trinity Rose "book lover" (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guarded (Paperback)

"Guarded" by Kirsten Lasinski is a wonderful, well written story.
This book tells of love, loss, failure, adoption, single parenting, forgiveness and peace finally. This book tells of many women who have lost men, but how they handled it in different ways.

Emily has always been searching for a love to fill the empty spot inside of her. She is strong and self-sufficient, but deeply hurt and struggling . Emily doesn't want to put faith or trust in anyone or anything, she wants to do it all herself.
Emily loves her daughter so much, but doesn't know how to relate to her. Emily doesn't believe she needs God, because she doesn't think He has ever helped her with anything. "Guarded" has many wonderful people in a small town that all love and appreciate Emily.

The ending is spectacular. I would never have guessed that it would end so fantastic. It shows how much God really loves us, and also how God is our Father and all we ever need. When no one else wants us or needs us God is always there for us. This is a book you really, really don't want to miss. This is just a book you have to have.

I received this book from Moody Publishers for review purposes.

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and thought provoking, July 25, 2005

By 

Author Addict "Elizabeth" (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guarded (Paperback)

I found this book to be really well written and hard to put down. Emily, the main character, is like so many women I know: strong and independent, but deeply wounded and struggling to allow vulnerability at the same time. It's a touching story that made me think about my own life and my own past and the idea of God as a Father in my life. Plus, I love the ending! I would recommend it to anyone.

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!, April 20, 2005

By 

Reader in Denver - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guarded (Paperback)

This is a wonderfully written story that really pulls you into the lives of the characters so that you are genuinely concerned about what happens to Emily and her family. Her spiritual and physical battles coincide and it opens your eyes to how the two really connect in our own lives. What a refreshing read in this day when multiple generations of kids are growing up without fathers, but to find that there is someone who loves us no matter what our lives are like here on earth.