Legacy Road
Published: 2012
Publisher: Kregel Publications
ISBN: 978-0-8254-2671-1
Synopsis...
The highly-anticipated sequel to Hero's Tribute
Wes Watkins’s journalism career took off when he was asked to eulogize Michael Gavin, a stranger to Wes but a hometown hero to the humble folks of Talking Creek, Georgia. While researching Gavin’s life, Wes was confronted with an estranged relationship of his own that he wasn’t prepared to address, having ignored for years the occasional letters from his imprisoned father. Wes has chosen to focus instead on his growing career and his budding relationship with Emmy. His life is looking up . . . until his marriage proposal to Emmy goes south.
Left to wonder if he can reconcile with Emmy before she is deployed to Afghanistan, Wes can no longer avoid the other reconciliation that troubles him. But when Wes uncovers a painful truth about his parents’ past, patching things up with his father may prove impossible. Wes’s life is close to spiraling out of control. Will Wes learn to forgive? Or will the best year of his life turn into the worst?
Set against the haunting backdrop of several Civil War battlefields, Legacy Road is a grace-full exploration of hidden secrets--and what happens when they are revealed. Through the ups and downs of human relationships, of family ties lost and found, southern fiction fans will ponder the age-old question: How do you forgive others--and release yourself--from a past that threatens to destroy you?
About the Author. . .
Graham Garrison is the author of Hero’s Tribute and Legacy Road. He has published articles in six newspapers and eight magazines,including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, America’s Civil War, Georgia Physician, and Boating World.
READER REVIEW
Sometimes you can't just ignore broken relationships; you have to mend them, or at least try. That's the lesson Wes Watkins learns in his role as graduate assistant to Professor Paul Gavin. For the research paper Professor Gavin has assigned, Wes has asked his estranged father for his grandfather's Civil War letters. Ron, his dad, has agreed to give him the letters, no strings attached. Wes has had little contact with him since his parents divorced when he was young. His father wrote to him while incarcerated, but he refused to read the letters, keeping them in a box.
His fiancee', Emmy, has a past of her own. While she says she loves Wes, something in her past keeps the relationship from moving forward. She uses her enlistment in the National Guard to keep him at arm's length while dealing with a long-ago broken relationship. Her refusal to explain her past to Wes only fuels his imagination and makes things worse.
In this novel, a sequel to Hero's Tribute, author Graham Garrison weaves the themes of redemption, forgiveness, and reconciliation seamlessly throughout the plot. The broken relationship between Wes and his father, the broken relationship of his parents, the relationship between Ron and his father, just to name a few. The need for self-forgiveness is also shown. Ron learns, as many of us do, that when we fail as parents, it is not easy to forgive ourselves. Emmy's story also demonstrates the difficulty of that task. And finally, the novel shows the most important forms of these: the miracle of man's redemption from sin through the blood of Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sins, and our reconciliation into right relationship with God, our Heavenly Father.
I believe that this book would be not only appropriate but enjoyable for any reader. Although I did not touch on it in this review, the Civil War battlefields mentioned throughout the novel would interest anyone interested in the war or history in general.
4 stars
*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Kregel Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Kregel Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*
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