"The Mapmaker's Children" combines two stories of women in different eras searching to find love, purpose and community.
One plot line follows Sarah Brown during a tumultuous time of civil war. Sarah,the daughter of abolitionist John Brown, was a strong and ambitious woman who loved well, sacrificed much, and labored continually to continue her father's work on the Underground Railroad. While well researched, author Sarah McCoy takes some creative liberties to better capture what Sarah Brown may have felt and dreamed during her lifetime.
Eden Anderson is a present day character who makes the move to a beautiful historical home on Apple Hill in hopes of saving her marriage and beginning her longed-for and seemingly impossible family. Along the way she discovers that her new home has some stories of its own to tell and as a result, Eden finds family - and healing - in the most unexpected places.
The thematic elements woven throughout each story are finding love and purpose in the midst of barrenness. These women are about making an impact and leaving a legacy...and it reveals to us as readers that love is more powerful than blood.
The author's style of writing flows well and seems true to each context. I enjoyed each story and found myself wanting to know how each story ends. I will comment that the book alternates between the women's stories every chapter, which I found to be abrupt and a tad jarring. It was difficult to constantly change perspective, but it urged me to keep reading.
There is a loose end that never gets tied up at the end too... and that made me sad. It's not important to the theme, but I was still left wanting an answer.
I have very few things to critique about this book. It's well written and an interesting read.
I am not a safe house. But I knew that, and that's why I felt compelled to explore this book. When my son became a "threenager" seemingly overnight, I stopped being a safe house. I started parenting out of fear and survival. I started reacting. I started punishing instead of disciplining. Or maybe, maybe this is how I've always been and it is just surfacing more with each challenge. In any case, I now have three sons three and under, and I am terrified....not of just having children who misbehave, but of having children who are resentful of me and of God. Joshua Straub, PhD, and author of this book is a Dad of two young children. That is to say, he's in the trenches with us. He also works with the American Association of Counselors, so he has a lot of helpful skills to offer every reader. There are three parts to the book. Part one outlines why emotional safety is necessary. It requires the reader to ...
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