Glory Road

Glory Road by Lauren K. Denton. New York: Thomas Nelson, 2019. 353 pages. Discussion Questions. ****

Told in the alternating voices of Gus, Jessie and Evan, three strong-willed Southern women, this multi-generational story is an easy read. Gus, the grandmother, almost seventy, hard-worker and master baker wants so much for her daughter and granddaughter. Jessie moved home ten years ago after a failed marriage to rural Perry, Alabama in a home next door to her mother on Glory Road. At peace with her life now, Jessie wants nothing more than to work at her plant business and share her knowledge with her customers. Evan, fourteen years old, starting high school is pushing her boundaries and seeing her mother and grandmother in a new light. When Jessie's high school boyfriend, Ben, moves into his parent’s house on Glory Road with his teenage son, Nick, all three women question what they want and need from life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Denton has a way of writing that quietly, slowly, draws you into the story. Somewhat predictable, however, I wanted to keep reading. Jessie's advice for choosing who to marry spoke to me, "I think you marry the one who, when everything else is stripped away - money, job, arguments, disagreements--he's still the one you'd want to sit with on the porch and...just...do nothing. Or do anything!" (pg. 313) In this cell phone, fast-paced world, wise words indeed.

I received this book to read as part of The Whimsical Wings, Book Hive Book Club. Based on the description on the back cover, I'm not sure I would have chosen it, so I am glad that I had the opportunity to read it as part of the book swap.

Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Lauren now lives with her husband and two young daughters in Homewood, just outside Birmingham. In addition to her fiction, she writes a monthly newspaper column about life, faith, and how funny (and hard) it is to be a parent. On any given day, she’d rather be at the beach with her family and a stack of books. Her debut novel, The Hideaway, is USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts bestseller. Her second novel, Hurricane Season, released in April, 2018, and was listed on BookPage's 2018 list of Most Anticipated Fiction.
To learn more about Lauren, visit https://laurenkdenton.com

#beachread #familyrelationships #gloryroad #bookhivebookclub #thewhimisicalwings