What She Left for Me

by Tracie Peterson

Book Overview

A mother and daughter struggle with grief and forgiveness. Will they allow God's spirit - and God's people - to bring true healing...and a future filled with love? When Jana returns from a missions... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764227769
• ISBN13: 9780764227769
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

A Must Read!

Once I started this book, it was hard to put down! Very emotional. A great read.

Can't go wrong

Tracie Peterson is quickly becoming another favorite author of mine. This book didn't fail me in my expectations. It is about a pastor's wife who finds out she is pregnant while on a work and witness trip and comes home to share the news and finds out her husband, the pastor, has left her for another woman. What I found refreshing about this book and storyline is just because we're Christians, doesn't mean our lives are storybook. It is nice to see a realistic point of view and that God can overcome the hurts if we let Him help us.

Are you running from your past? Have Painful Memories? Read this book!

I've spent the past week reading What She Left for Me by Tracie Peterson. I won't give you a synopsis of the book - other reviewers have done that, but this is definitely a KEEPER. I want to encourage you to read it and learn from it, and pass it on to a hurting friend. This book is dedicated: "To all who bear their secret shame, who carry the pain of the past, who long to be set free." Ms. Peterson continues with a letter to the reader, suggesting that moms and other caregivers should decide if this book is appropriate for teenage girls. I wish I could stand on a street corner and hand this book to everyone who passes but Ms. Peterson is right, you have to determine if your teenage daughter is emotionally ready for this story. But please note, you don't have to have been a victim of abuse or molestation to learn something from this story. I learned from Jana when she thought to herself, "Can a person hold something against another without even realizing it?" I've never thought about it so I had to highlight that phrase. We're definitely 'products' of our past-whether we want to be or not. I'm sure we all have ghosts that rear their ugly heads and say boo to us now and then-especially when we think we're happy. We need to rid ourselves of those ghosts and Ms. Peterson's tortured, hurting characters show us exactly how to do it. Yes, this book is about forgiveness, and it will show you how. Taffy said, "You must never confuse forgiveness for approval; it's not the same thing. . .." I encourage you to grab a copy of What She Left for Me. Savor every word and each lesson learned by Peterson's well-rounded characters. If you have demons in your past, Jana, Eleanor and Taffy's stories will point your in the right direction for forgiveness. As for me, I'm going to the blackboard and write `you must never confuse forgiveness for approval; it's not the same thing' five hundred times. Would you like to join me?

Tackles the Tough Subjects of Adultery, Incest and Child Abuse

Three women's lives are intertwined in ways they have never discussed until circumstances bring them all under one roof. Jana, the youngest of the three, must move in with her Great-aunt Taffy and her mother, Eleanor, when she finds out her husband has left her for his secretary. To make matters worse, he is the pastor of their church and she must leave the parsonage within a week. Jana and her mother have never gotten along. Eleanor has pushed Jana away at every turn, trying to teach her to never be dependent on anyone for anything, including love, which is what Jana has wanted more than anything. Jana has spent her entire life thinking her mother didn't love her and knowing that her father didn't want her. She also begs her mother to tell her about the past, where she came from and who her dad was - the very things her mom has fought to forget. Then there's Taffy. She has a joy for life that neither Jana nor Eleanor can understand. They are certain she has never endured a hardship as they have only to discover that her life hasn't been that dissimilar from theirs and her joy truly comes from the peace she has with God.

thought provoking eye opening relationship drama

Pregnant Jana comes home following a three week missionary trip to Africa only to find her pastor husband dumped her for his secretary, emptied their finances and took anything else of value including her jewelry left to her by a relative before vanishing. Jana is further stunned when she learns he explained all to his parishioners including that Jana knew. Feeling stripped of any decency by a man of God she thought she knew and with the new pastor arriving shortly to take over her current residence, Jana returns home in spite of an estranged relationship with her mom Eleanor. Also residing in her mother's house is her lovable eccentric Great-Aunt Taffy. Through Taffy's manipulations, the kindness of a minister and while the pregnancy progresses, Jana and Eleanor begin to heal the past as both turn to God to help them find forgiveness as each realizes "to err is human". Still Jana has further tribulations to cope with hopefully with her mom at her side and the Lord everywhere to guide her. Though obviously an inspirational tale, WHAT SHE LEFT FOR ME is much more as Tracie Patterson delves into taboo subjects like adultery by religious leaders and rape by adult family members of a child. Jana is a terrific central character who learns that probably no bond is stronger than that of a mother and daughter except with the Lord. Eleanor and Taffy strengthen the strong insightful family drama that focuses on various interrelationships. This includes negative impacts caused by "loving" third parties that like some politicians, prefer sanitizing, insisting this only occurs in liberal hot spots like Boston. This is a thought provoking eye opening relationship drama. Harriet Klausner