Tender Grace [Paperback]

Jackina Stark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2009

Audrey Eaton awakes at three in the morning and gets up to retrieve her husband, Tom, from the recliner where he has fallen asleep watching a ball game. But when she enters the living room and looks at his gentle face in the soft lamp light, she knows their time together is over. Grief attacks her until all she can think about is how much she wants her old life back. Determined to find healing, she embarks on a journey to the one place Tom and she always intended to visit but never did. Along the way, she discovers, through shared experiences with friends old and new, the meaning of the "tender graces" God provides each and every day.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The literature of widowhood is compelling—Joan Didion's A Year of Magical Thinking had an impact well beyond her usual readership. Novelist Stark, a retired English teacher who's not afraid to invoke the great classic poets, makes a lovely debut in this story of Audrey Eaton, a widow whose road trip is also a healing journey. That plot device is not new, but Eaton's writing is fresh and delicate, successfully expressing nuance in a narrative that is mostly about emotions, not events. Her dialogue is witty and easy; an interlude at a homeless shelter is nice comic relief. The Christian elements required for the evangelical audience are natural for the plot—lots of bereaved people derive comfort from renewed faith. But they're slightly overdone; God's work can be apparent in a story of transformation even without explicit labeling, especially with a narrator given to dignified understatement. If Stark's next book does more showing and less telling with the elements of faith, she could gain the larger audience she deserves. (Feb.)
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From Booklist

Tom and Audrey Eaton are a loving couple who enjoy each other’s company. But one tragic day, Audrey finds her beloved 58-year-old husband dead in his recliner. Sudden widowhood overwhelms her. Crippled by grief, Audrey longs for her life as a happily married woman. Finally, she forces herself to go on a trip she and Tom had always planned on taking. Her encounters with others along the way make this excursion more than a trip—it becomes Audrey’s journey toward healing. Readers who enjoy such inspirational, emotion-filled books as those by Karen Kingsbury and Terri Blackstock will find this faith-based debut novel a satisfying read. --Shelley Mosley

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Product Details

• Paperback: 294 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House; Original edition (February 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764205757
• ISBN-13: 978-0764205750
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,342,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Wonderful Read!, January 24, 2009

By 

Polly Underwood (Muskogee, OK United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tender Grace (Paperback)

Tender Grace is a new novel that deals with a widow's grief, her growth, and her transformation to a new state of awareness. In the story, Audrey, a widow of 18 months, leaves for a trip to visit the places she and her husband never visited but wanted to visit. The book is about her journey. Her journey isn't easy. She feels that it is about the trip, but it is also about her hopes, dreams, memories, and soul. This is a Christian book, but not one that preaches at you. It is a quiet, loving type of affirmation of faith. In this book you meet new friends, see new places, and feel as if you were on the trip with Audrey. It was a story that I started in the afternoon and could not put down until I finished it, hours later. It was time well spent. This will be a book that I read over and over again. I will recommend it to my friends, and I will also recommend it to those who have difficulty with grief issues and moving foreward with life. It is the type of book you give for a gift; the type you give to your mom and her friends; your daughter and her friends. This book transcends age groups and moves into the realm of ageless treasure. I want these friends for my own. I want to go on Audry's journey, but not for the same reasons.
This is Jackina Stark's first novel. I hope that it will not be her last.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hopefully, just the first of many by this author..., January 19, 2009

By 

RAD (Broken Arrow, OK United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tender Grace (Paperback)

Just couldn't put this book down and finished it way too quickly! While it is a novel about the loss of a spouse, it is so much more than that. Jackina has beautifully used the Gospel of John to help anyone who finds herself losing the joy she once knew, regardless of the circumstance that may have brought about that loss.

Jackina's sense of humor, as well as her love for art, music, literature and grammar do shine through in little unexpected moments...really delightful!

And, for those of us in the Tulsa and Oklahoma area, lots of references to familiar places make it especially fun!

We'll be reading much more from Jackina Stark!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant reawakening of a woman's soul, February 18, 2009

By 

Christina Lockstein "Christy's Book Blog" (Oconto Falls, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Tender Grace (Paperback)

Tender Grace by Jackina Stark is a poignant story about a woman's quest to reclaim her voice and her life after the death of her husband. Audrey Eaton has isolated herself after the sudden death of her husband Tom just a few months into their early retirement. She stopped substitute teaching, seeing friends, and doing any reading, including her Bible. Her life revolves around watching lots of television to numb her pain; she's even stopped speaking except when absolutely necessary to keep up the illusion of normalcy. After two years of mourning, Audrey decides to take a road trip in hopes that it will reawaken her love for life. Road trip stories are one of my favorite genres. I love stories that involves a physical journey that mimics a spiritual one as well, and Stark's is a wonderful example of just how it should be. Her writing is lyrical and moving. In the opening chapters, Audrey's journal entries are terse and unemotional, but as she meets new people and sees the world around her, they start to flow with feelings and depth. Her writing sings on every page: I'm not brain dead, but I'm sure my heart in precariously close to a kind of death, because anything I do is such a chore. My life is one long sigh. I love that not every encounter Audrey has is full of meaning, but she chooses to learn from each one. I was reluctant to turn the final page on this book, and I look forward to reading more from the author.