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Book Review: Fifty Days to Sunrise by Cristine Eastin, PhD

categories: Book, Clean Romance, Women's Fiction, Christian Fiction, Inspirational Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Love Story, Emotional Healing, Death, Grief, Family Life, Friendship, Second Chance, Christian Romance

Cristine Eastin, PhD

about this book: My psychotherapy clients inspired me to write "Fifty Days to Sunrise": the story of Lissa, a woman grieving the death of her husband. Healing and hope can seem elusive, and I wanted to weave a story with the strength of the love of family, friends, and faith.

The characters here are nice people. Not without their flaws, they're enjoyable to be around. They're extraordinary, yet ordinary people: people we know, or would like to know, growing up in ordinary small-town Minnesota.

The title hints at a dark-night-of-the-soul time. Fifty days is the time Lissa spends at her parents home during the summer of 2003. Sunrise brings hope, and, in Lissa's case, it takes a while to find hope, but she does.

Readers of "Fifty Days to Sunrise" might need a box of tissues alongside as they read, (so one reviewer said). Readers will laugh, they'll remember their youth, they'll think about their relationships. In short, as another reviewer noted: "It had me thinking of my own life…"

The cover for this book chose me. Ridiculous, but when I was cruising through a thousand images and saw this one, I burst into tears. Sold! I wanted a sunrise pretty and pink with water. I added the image of Lissa to evoke the mood and to show that this is a novel for women, about a woman.

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Darkest before the dawn

Cristine Eastin's writing is so seamless! The darkness in Lissa's soul is blended into the warmth and promise of that sunrise mentioned in the title. The author does it with the skillful technique of a fine artist smudging a pencil drawing to soften the harsh lines and integrate all components of the creation.

In some books certain scenes stick with the reader, and there are many memorable scenes and characters in 'Fifty Days to Sunrise.' But even more, the tone and mood of the story have stayed with me since I read it. I hope Ms. Eastin has more books to come. [by Anita Klumpers]