Shaped by the Waves

Author: Christina Suzann Nelson

Publisher: Bethany House

Release Date: February 1, 2022

Nelson weaves yet another intricate story involving the lives of multiple women who need each other to move forward.

Cassie has always felt at home with the ocean while living in Gulls Bay, Oregon with her aunt Shasta.  Her mother was killed in a car accident when she was very young, and Shasta came and got her in Seattle and brought her home to Gulls Bay.  But when she finds herself with an unplanned pregnancy, she decides to move to California and pursue her studies in marine biology where no one knows who she is.  One day she receives a call that changes her life, Shasta has had a stroke and she has been suffering from Parkinson’s for the last five years.

Cassie loads up her daughter Lark and makes the drive back up to Oregon.  There she finds the same people she left behind that treat her as if she was never away.  She soon realizes that she is going to have to be Shasta’s primary caregiver and suffers a series of worries and doubts that she won’t be good enough or strong enough to provide for both her daughter and Shasta.  In the midst of everything, pieces of a manuscript begin to appear outside the apartment that begin to make Cassie question everything about her past, especially when she finds out that a baby with her name is buried in a cemetery in Seattle.  What’s true and what’s not?

Christina Suzann Nelson always manages to craft characters who are hurting, yet strong willed, and make them become a reader’s best friend while trying to help them work out their problems.  I have been a fan of many of her books and this is an excellent addition to the collection.  Cassie will be many things to many different people.  Some will find strength with her as she goes about her struggles.  Others will find a companion to share their burdens with.  Still others will understand the complications of her hesitancy to enter a relationship as a single parent of a young child.  One thing is for sure, she is one of my favorite characters so far this year.

To say this is a difficult, emotional read is not to be taken lightly.  As my parents are aging, I really haven’t put much thought into the future of having to become a caregiver and this book will really make you explore that.  Other readers will probably find this an outlet to agree with the burdens that they are facing.  This will be a great addition to any library. I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher.  The views and opinions expressed within are my own.