On Shifting Sand
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3.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
Long before anyone would christen it “The Dust Bowl,” Nola Merrill senses the destruction. She’s been drying up bit by bit since the day her mother died, leaving her to be raised by a father who withholds his affection the way God keeps a grip on the Oklahoma rain. A hasty marriage to Russ, a young preacher, didn’t bring the escape she desired. Now, twelve years later with two children to raise, new seeds of dissatisfaction take root.
When Jim, a mysterious drifter and long-lost friend from her husband’s past, takes refuge in their home, Nola slowly springs to life under his attentions until a single, reckless encounter brings her to commit the ultimate betrayal of her marriage. For months Nola withers in the wake of the sin she so desperately tries to bury. Guilt and shame consume her physically and spiritually, until an opportunity arises that will bring the family far from the drought and dust of Oklahoma. Or so she thinks. As the storms follow, she is consumed with the burden of her sin and confesses all, hoping to find Russ’s love strong enough to stand the test.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
As far as inspirational love stories go, Pittman (Crossroads of Grace series) has crafted an unconventional one. She mires her protagonists in grit with a tale of sex, physical abuse, infidelity, and betrayal. Nola Mitchum endured a harsh upbringing after her mother died. Smalltown Oklahoma preacher Russ Merrill became her exit strategy. Now 13 years old with two children, Nola's marriage is no better than her father's abuse was. Her soul becomes as dry as the Dust Bowl they live in until Jim Brace, an old friend of Russ, appears, and Nola begins to tread the treacherous territory of emotional infidelity. The sexual consummation of her relationship with Jim buries Nola deeper in guilt. Her shame is overshadowed only by the fear of Russ's response to her indiscretion. The drama is slow to start as Pittman develops the setting, meticulously detailing the difficulties of dealing with deadly dust storms. Nola is vividly fleshed out, and, through her viewpoint, Pittman effectively contrasts the repercussions of forgiveness when it is withheld and granted.
