I’m grateful for these endorsements.
In A Long Awaking to Grace, Linda Marshall recounts with honesty and tenderness her decades long journey in caring for her children through a labyrinth of pain and limitations.
Her story affirms that not giving up on love — though we often don’t know what is happening — leads us to gifts where we least expect them.
~ Mark Nepo
New York Times best-selling author of The Book of Awakening and More Together Than Alone
A Long Awakening to Grace shows the transformative power of an open heart and questing spirit.
Faith buoys Linda Marshall through decades of family pain and tragedy caused by a mysterious genetic condition.
Over the course of this inspiring journey, love opens the way for profound healing.
~ Susan J. Tweit
author of Walking Nature Home: A Life’s Journey
Linda’s memoir is more than just a retelling of her life story. This work of nonfiction functions on so many levels.
In addition to being a brilliantly insightful spiritual exploration and narrative about a rare genetic disorder, it’s the quintessential story of the American woman born in the 1940s, growing up in the 1950s, and dealing with stifling gender roles imposed on American women of that era.
~ April Wilson
author of the McIntyre Security Bodyguard Series of contemporary romance novels
When I first heard that this was a story about women with disabled children, I assumed I’d read the equivalent story in many forms.
I was wrong. This one is about the narrator’s struggle as she integrates her spiritual life and personal journey with the needs of two children, both suffering from a rare form of muscular dystrophy.
I came away with a new understanding of grace and great appreciation for the narrator.
If you are a parent, teacher, medical professional, or a human being concerned with those who experience the world differently, you need to read this book. It’s accessible, detailed, and unique.
~ B. Lynn Goodwin
author of Never Too Late: From Wannabe to Wife at 62, writing coach, and managing editor of Writer’s Advice
Linda A. Marshall’s memoir, A Long Awakening to Grace, hooked me at the first sentence and wouldn’t let me go. Bravo!
It’s well written, the descriptions are vivid, and the narrative flow kept me reading. Her willingness to be vulnerable and open about her challenges and struggles and self-criticism leaves me in awe.
She might adopt the tag line: “Nevertheless, she persisted.” She kept on seeking divine guidance and her own personal growth. It’s amazing how long it took to find the correct diagnosis for her family.
I resonated with how hard it has been to let go of adult children and stay connected in a loving way. Good job!
~ Alice Carlton
Retired Imago Relationship Therapist and aspiring novelist
Although it is a tragic but true story of grace emerging from years of suffering and the mystery of its source, this book reads like a compelling novel by a talented author who knows how to keep the reader on the edge of suspense.
We encourage its reading by anyone interested in the emergence of a heroine from darkness into light and knows how to tell her story.
~ Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt
New York Times Best-selling authors of Getting the Love You Want and Making Marriage Simple
One of my physician colleagues, when asked how he dealt with ‘such depressing neuromuscular diseases,’ replied, ‘I have the greatest job in the world because I get to work with heroes every day.’
This remarkable memoir chronicles one such hero’s quest to find an answer to a genetic riddle that had severely impacted her family for decades.
The story is moving, meaningful, and inspiring, and reading it has made me a better doctor. It is a tremendous resource for other families in similar situations.
~ John T. Kissel, M.D.
Chair, Department of Neurology
Director, Division of Neuromuscular Medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
A mother strengthens her faith over a lifetime of heartache in this spiritual account of recovery and acceptance. … An unflinching portrait of one family’s struggles and a mother’s boundaries that should appeal to memoir lovers.
~ Kirkus Review
Out of her desire to accomplish God’s purpose for her life, Linda Marshall courageously shares the pain and shame that held her captive for years.
You will be challenged by her journey that took her from a silent position of fear to a vocal position of vulnerability and freedom.
~ Helen LaKelly Hunt
author of And the Spirit Moved Them: The Lost Radical History of America’s First Feminists
Linda Marshall has written an eloquent, heart wrenching and deeply moving memoir.
From the time she was a child, she searched for ‘a better way’ to be a family. Her courage and commitment throughout a journey with many challenges is admirable, and reflects a deep spirituality.
What she learns in the process provides resources and wisdom for all who yearn for a better way.
I have known Linda for almost forty years and am grateful that she has shared her story with us.
~ Pamela Brubaker
author of Globalization at What Price and Women Don’t Count
This book reads like a good mystery! It is the story of a mother’s quest to find out why her children have so many problems. It is also the story of how her faith grew and evolved as she sought answers.
This book is a courageous baring of the soul of one who in sharing her struggles hopes to help others in their struggle.
Even though my life has been very different from her life I found many places in her story that resonate with me. This is well worth the time to read.
~ Carolyn J. Mann, M.Div.
Ordained Minister and Quilter
