"In the chasing of something significant, you might very well miss the fact that you already are."
Trotting around the country using her camera as a shield, Augusta Travers takes eye-catching photos from places that every woman might long to travel, but cannot, due to the restraints of hearth and home. Under the name "Miss Adventurous", she contributes her work to "Lady's Weekly", making the circular wildly popular. . . until word leaks out among society elites about who the photographer really is, causing quite the scandal and sending Augusta packing once again. This time her editor's assignment sends Augusta far across the globe to India, ensuring a comfortable distance between her constantly disapproving family, and drawing her closer towards two of her dearest childhood friends. Dare she surprise them with her arrival?
"Gentle reader, I am about to step out on my own rope - one that stretches from America's golden shores across the wild waters. I cannot tell you now where I am going, but I promise I will be brave. And my adventures will be anything but ordinary."
Ironically, it is Augusta who is surprised. Arriving in Poona, she finds Catherine(now the widowed Mrs. John Archer) and "Specs", (now the esteemed Dr. Gabriel MacLean) much changed, and displaying mixed emotions about her sudden appearance; Catherine is thrilled while Gabriel displays panic, for the city is barely recovering from the bubonic plague and he fears for Augusta's health and well being. However, her physical safety might be the least of her worries, for it is her heart that began turning somersaults the minute she laid eyes upon the very grown-up version of Gabriel MacLean.
Had Augusta finally discovered a place where she could find rest for her soul? Could she acknowledge that her true worth would never be determined by affirmation of others, but was, and always had been, deeply rooted in the fact that she was fearfully and wonderfully made by One who would call her beloved for all of eternity; "adopted by a perfect Father." Or would she always be "prone to wander" in spite of dear, dear Specs declaring, "I do not think I will give up on you just yet . . ."
In the beginning this lovely story meandered, much like its main character, before comfortably settling in to its true purpose; finding purpose. " . . . I set off for India. And I discovered that everything I had thought important . . . isn't."
*I purchased a copy and I was under no obligation to provide a positive review.
BackCover Blurb:
Augusta Travers has spent the last three years avoiding the
stifling expectations of New York society and her family's constant
disappointment. As the nation's most fearless--and reviled--columnist,
Gussie travels the country with her Kodak camera and spins stories for
women unable to leave hearth and home. But when her adventurous nature
lands her in the middle of a scandal, an opportunity to leave America
offers the perfect escape.
Arriving in India, she expects only a nice visit with childhood friends, siblings Catherine and Gabriel, and escapades that will further her career. Instead, she finds herself facing a plague epidemic, confusion over Gabriel's sudden appeal, and the realization that what she wants from life is changing. But slowing down means facing all the hurts of her past that she's long been trying to outrun. And that may be an undertaking too great even for her.
Arriving in India, she expects only a nice visit with childhood friends, siblings Catherine and Gabriel, and escapades that will further her career. Instead, she finds herself facing a plague epidemic, confusion over Gabriel's sudden appeal, and the realization that what she wants from life is changing. But slowing down means facing all the hurts of her past that she's long been trying to outrun. And that may be an undertaking too great even for her.
Bethany House Publishing, November, 2021
Available in digital ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook:
Buy EVERY WORD UNSAID at Amazon, Christianbook .com, or Baker Book House
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