Customer Reviews

Jumping in Sunset

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After they celebrate his birthday at a restaurant, on their way back to their Minneapolis home, Paul Thornton drops a bombshell on his wife of two decades Pamela. Without any warning or sign he tells her he's divorcing her and intends to marry Dana, the woman he is running a church program with. Paul also says that he and his intended are moving to California where he has a new job waiting for him.

At first Pamela can't function, rejecting the well-meaning kindness of her friends and church until Starla offers the use of a summer cabin at Sunset Lake. Pamela finds peace there and reconnects with an old school friend who is a famous composer of Christian music. Pamela hopes that Paul will return to her, but as time goes by she realizes that she has to get on with her life. She takes her photograph career in a new direction, buys a winterized cabin, and slowly starts to let go of the past to the point where one day she hopes to forgive Paul and Dana.

The heroine is a strong, tough and independent woman even though she is unaware of these qualities that make her a survivor. Paul is made too easy to dislike because he has carried on for years with Dana and he is emotionally cruel to his wife by telling her he never loved her. Readers hearts will go out to the woman scorned and hope she can let go of her anger to take a second chance at love. This is a warm and poignant tale that will leave readers emotionally gratified.

Harriet Klausner

Dawn Ringling has done an amazing job of describing the emotions that often seem indescribable dealing with divorce. She not only makes the reader understand the pain, lonliness, embarrassment, grief, and depression of the main character abandoned after nineteen years, but she also makes you think out of the box as to the perspective of the husband, daughter, friends, and associates. Few are left untouched when divorce rips through a family. Though the subject seems dismal, there is hope and love written thoughout the text. The book is hard to put down. I'm looking forward to more work from Dawn Ringling.

Jumping in Sunset is a very good read: well-written storyline, characters that are real & interesting, and an ending that is not pat "Christian-ese". Not necessarily spouting answers, this author ably explores the pain and real issues of infidelity & divorce. A must read for those who like a good story and for those who like to grow & be challenged along with the characters whose story they are reading.

Ringling is an amazing writer and deals with a difficult subject with panache and sensitivity to BOTH sides of the divorce issue. As far as I can tell, this is the first time an author of Christian fiction has dealt with the painful reality of divorce without reconciliation. I couldn't put it down. When will we see more of this author?

This novel was so realistic, I feel as if I know the characters In fact, I was married to a man who was so much like Paul in this book that it was difficult, at first, to read. But I couldn't put it down! Ms. Ringling knows her stuff and has an amazing way of telling a story that many of us have lived through and have wanted to have told. Please write more!

Divorce is something we hate, but it is hard to escape. Even Christian families experience at least one divorce, and usually more. This book grabbed me with the first word, and I couldn't put it down.

The author described perfectly the emotions felt by both parties in a divorce, and by other family members affected, as well. The whole gamut of emotions kept coming in waves as I read faster and faster.

I had not read this author before, but I highly recommend her and hope to see something by her in the future.

Juanita Nobles
author of A Heritage of Faith
[...]

When everything is falling apart, God leads her to the people who help put it back together. A beautiful story of spirit.

I seriously think I must have read a different book than all of the other people who rated this. The only thing that kept me reading was the fact that I never leave a book unfinished. I did end up flipping through it pretty quickly though so that I could move on the something more interesting. The story seemed to be at a stand still the whole time; it went NOWHERE. It was totally boring and a complete waste of time!