Patti Hill, In Every Flower

In Every Flower

Bethany, Oct 2006, $12.99

ISBN: 0764229397

Several years have passed since her spouse died in a biking accident. Mibby Garrett, owner of Perennially Yours Garden Design and mother to fifteen years old Kyle, feels it is time to move on. She accepts the proposal of Larry, who is kind to her teenage son, after they discuss what marriage means to one another. Both feel ready as they know what to expect. After the ceremony, they go off on their honeymoon leaving Kyle with Larry's mother Connie.

However, when they return home to set up housekeeping, neither had anticipated the impact of their marriage on their extended family. Connie not only redid the kitchen, but she is over every moment offering unsolicited advice and being hurt when that advice is ignored. Kyle struggles with no longer being the man of the house as much as having a new father. Others are almost as intrusive leaving the newlyweds to wonder if it was worth it. Mibby asks God to help her by guiding her through the chaotic loving interference of others.

Book three in the Garden gates tales (see Like A Watered Garden and Always Green) is a terrific realistic look at second marriages mostly from the perspective of an intelligent, deeply devout caring person. Indirectly by how they behave to the beleaguered Mibby, the audience also sees how Larry, Ky and Connie react. Still this is Mibby's tale (and trilogy) as she feels so overwhelmed by the actions and reactions of others she wonders whether living in sin would have been a better option before turning to the Lord for guidance. This is a solid character study miniseries that deeply follows a woman from mourning to re-dawning of her life.

Harriet Klausner