Red Hair and Freckles Running Barefoot through the Storm

Red Hair and Freckles Running Barefoot through the Storm Review

In the introduction to Fynn's 'Mister God This Is Anna', Vernon Sproxton defines an 'Ah! Book' as one which fundamentally changes the reader's consciousness. This is an 'Ah! book'.
As an English graduate I must acknowledge that there are a few grammatical errors in the text, but as a reader I must also say it couldn't matter less. Perhaps it's even a good thing, for to read this book is to connect with a real, fallible, loving human being who is writing truthfully and from the heart. I defy anyone to read this and not identify with the writer. The philosophy is wise, but always humble and never patronising, while the vivid details of everyday life spark the whole with a reality that is at first terrifying and gradually comforting as we travel Sandy's journey right alongside her. From the familiar picture on the first page of a woman working on her 'list of chores' to the shining triumph over a batch of chocolate fudge, from the graphic horror of the nightmares to the peace of the final light, this is a story we can lose our whole selves in as we trace the footsteps of one woman's journey through grief to acceptance. This is not a book for someone seeking glib, easy answers - it offers instead the reality of an ongoing journey - but answers are there all the same, and I for one have learnt a great deal from it.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has suffered bereavement or any other great trial. I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't, if only to help them prepare for the time when they do, and to reach greater understanding of those who have. In other words I would recommend this book to anyone at all who has a heart. On August 22nd, 1996, my nine-year-old grandson's life ended abruptly on a country road in Southern Pennsylvania. He and two friends were riding bikes when a car emerged over a hill missing two of the boys but striking my grandson head-on. While spiraling downward to depths of hopelessness, the only thing with me was pen and paper. I wrote when finding myself floundering through a world I no longer understood while the cycle of life reversed. As the foundation of faith was shaken, our close-knit family began to unravel. I continued to try and write away the pain in a desperate attempt to make sense of a world I no longer wanted to be a part of. This was just the beginning of a journey through agonizing loss in many forms. It appeared we were handed much more than we could handle when another child passed before us. Our marriage started to disconnect. While sifting through the hourglass of time, this true story is filled with vivid recollections of tragedies we stumbled through, weird dreams that dominated the nights, divine interventions, and my personal spiritual journey. This story was written from my perspective during a time when life and faith were shattered into millions of fragments. These pages are filled with heartache but weaved throughout with wonderful reminiscences. Against all odds, my husband and I reunited at the place where beginnings became endings. Red hair and Freckles will captivate every heart that has suffered loss in any form, and I believe the Lord touched my heart in many ways, giving me the courage to complete this story that has no ending until the breath in me is silenced. This book is about love...about loss...about life.