Emily's Hope: A Book Review - Updated -- A Pro-life Love Story

Emily’s Hope
Author: Ellen Gable
Full Quiver Publishing, June 1, 2005
Paperback: 360 pages

Emily's Hope is an engaging love story and a young Catholic woman’s search for the truth as she travels the difficult journey from adolescence to adulthood in the late seventies through the present day. It also depicts the story of another woman’s journey, that of Emily’s great-grandmother, who appears to be the antithesis of Emily. While Emily is an innocent, unselfish, religious young woman who seeks the truth in life and love, and discovers their real meaning via Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, her great – grandmother, journeying through the early part of the 20th century to the 1960’s, abused as a child, raised without religion, married to a man she doesn’t love, haphazardly enters into one affair after another, and embraces Margaret Sanger’s philosophy. The two stories are craft fully interwoven, creating a delightful suspense for the reader.

The target audience for Emily’s Hope is clearly the young adult, aged 16 – 30, though men and women of all ages would enjoy this compelling personal story which is written in a lucid, intimate style. Young women will most certainly be drawn into the story by the romance and the lively escapades of adolescence and adulthood presented, and at the same time, will learn about the Catholic teachings regarding sexuality and marriage.

What I found most interesting about this semi- fictitious story based on the real life experiences of the author was the relationship that Emily shares with her boyfriend, who later becomes her husband. A young, Catholic man (at the peak of his sexual drive), strongly grounded in his faith, he convinces Emily, the older, and slightly more “worldly” woman, of the importance of chastity and abstinence. He is an excellent model for male youth today – someone for them to emulate in their struggles with chastity.

There is so much to love about Emily’s Hope – the innocence of young love, the beautiful, miraculous, healing power of love, and the beauty of sacrificial married love and its life-giving splendor. The story is not a fantasy, but is a tender and sensitive portrayal of what makes love real and lasting.

My rating: ***** out of a possible 5 stars.

~ Jean M. Heimann, Copyright, 2006
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Comments

  1. Anonymous6/5/06, 1:03 PM

    Jean,

    I just finished this book and it is one of the best pro-life books I have ever read. I loved it!

    I am buying one for all my nieces and nephews.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous6/6/06, 4:43 PM

    Ditto for me. I purchased this for my 16 year old daughter and it taught her more about contraception and sexual abstinence that I ever could have. We discussed the book and its implications and it has had a major impact on both of our lives.

    Thanks for reviewing this wonderful book!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maryellen2/10/12, 6:19 PM

    I've spent over an hour trying to download the book offer "Emily's Hope". I so much wanted to take advantage of the free book.

    I was able to download the Kindle app for PC. The option I found was to download a Sample, which was then placed in my Kindle app. I hope you can guide me to click the proper links. I couldn't find a link to the free book offer.

    This is my first attempt to read a book with Kindle for PC. Obviously I'm skipping an important step.

    The sample that downloaded was so good. I hope to get this little project done before the 3 day offer ends.

    Thank you if you are able to help me.
    Maryellen Jones

    ReplyDelete

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