Tragedy comes to Father John. His
mother and sister, healers living together apart form the village,
are accused by the villagers of witchcraft. Several men of the
village take it on themselves to rid the village of this satanic
influence. John's mother is killed, burned to death in her house. His
sister is raped. The horror of it almost causes John to lose his
reason. But the community is there with prayers and love.
This is another book about the power of
community. Although each man is imperfect, they are able to comfort
each other, strengthen their brothers, and through prayer bring
someone back from the crucible of tragedy. The characters in this
book are wonderful. No one is perfect, but they're real people;
people you'd like to know. I also love the plot. This is not a tidy
book where everything is made right. As in real life, people go
through a horrible experience and end up stronger, but they're still
human with all the faults of humanity.
I highly recommend this book,
particularly if you're dealing with grief or loss. Like the title
says, the hour before dawn can be the darkest part of the night, but
the golden light of dawn is coming. This story holds out the hope of
healing from even the worst tragedy and shows how people can help and
strengthen each other with God's love.
I reviewed this book for Crossway
publshers.
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