Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is the sad /happy story of life in California in the 1850s during the gold rush days.  Angel could barely remember her childhood with her mother.  She was poor but her mother loved her and no one else did.  Her childhood ended at the age of 8 when her mother died and she was sold into prostitution.  She learns to never trust men as she can only expect betrayal from them.  When she grew too old for the men who only desired little girls she made her way to California and into the brothels for the gold rush men.  She meets Michael Hosea who only loves and treats her with respect.  He marries her and takes her home to his farm.  Michael also introduces her to his faith in God but her trust has already been destroyed and cannot be redeemed by even the love of Michael.  Michael finally breaks down some of her barriers and Angel, who Michael calls Amanda, learns to love him.  One of the ways that Angel’s body was ruined for her was by surgery so that she can never have a child.  Angel knows that Michael wants a child and that because of his great love for her will not leave her.  Angel leaves him again and again because she believes that she is not worthy of his love and that she can never give him the children he wants.  This is the story of Angel learning to trust both God and man and becoming a woman of self respect.

This story is difficult to read.  I had to set it aside numerous times because of the difficult subject matter.  I think that this is a story that needed to be told and is a powerful message for all who are victims of people who have power over them and develop feelings of unworthiness.  This story tells all of us that we are unworthy and can never be worthy of the love of God but that we must accept it anyway.  This story needs to be read by all women whether victims of violence or not so that we can remember that we never have any more right to the love that God gives to each of us than anyone else.  We all have sinned and are unworthy and He loves us all.  One of the best books I have read lately.  5 stars.

This book was provided by WaterbrookMultnomah for this review.