This book sat on my shelf for YEARS and I just never got around to it.

Then I seen it on audible.com and bought it to listen to on audio…. now

with tears in my eyes, I wonder what took me so long.

Sheila

Jake Bryan was a God-fearing man.  He loved his wife Jamie, and his daughter Sierra with all of his heart.  Jake was a fireman in New York City but made it a point to always be home to put his daughter to bed, and spend time with his wife.

Eric Micheal’s was a business man through and through.  When early in their marriage he and his wife Laura,lost their new-born daughter right after she was born.  They were told if they had brought Laura in earlier for more care, they could have prevented this but at the time they did not have the insurance to help pay for doctors appointments.  Eric vowed never again would they be in want of anything.  Now, years later, Eric works all the time…. working his way up the corporate ladder and not looking back.. barely noticing that he is leaving his beautiful blond wife and 6-year-old son behind.  Eric once believed in God – but since his one day old daughter died, Eric really had no time for a God who did not deliver.  Time after all was money.. and money was security.

Then, one Tuesday in September, Eric was on a business trip in New York at the World Trade Center when a plane mysteriously hit the other tower.  Baffled, Eric watches the smoke billow from the building and calls home to tell his wife what happened.  When she asks him to leave the building, he says there is no need – he is safer where he is and continues his work…

just as a second plane comes on to the TV screen aiming for the tower he is in, as his wife screams “Eric!  Watch out!”

and then

silence.

Hours later on this September day, Jamie receives a phone call.  Jake has been found… alive.  He is in the hospital and he has amnesia.  Jamie is so grateful, but Jake does not recognize her.  And as days turn into months, Jamie’s heart breaks again and again as the man in her home tries to remember… but can’t.  And odd flashes are coming to him… of a blond woman… and a little boy….

When I recently found this book on audible.com I was thrilled to finally get to know what this book was all about.  When I announced on the Monday What Are You Reading Meme that I would be listening to this, Martha from Martha’s Bookshelf commented that she was about to listen to this too… we teamed up to do our reviews together.

One Tuesday Morning is a phenomenal read centered around the events of September 11th and the tragedy of The World Trade Center.  Author Karen Kingsbury does a wonderful job of handling a hard subject with great care.  The words play out and word after word, I find myself there…experiencing it almost again, but from a different view.  A few times, this book brought me to tears.

One of the questions I had asked Martha for her review was did she find this book believable?  To answer this myself, I did.  What happens in this book through the terror and the grief, and the hope for a miracle… I could see something like this happening. 

Martha asked me if I felt the faith based issues were blended easily into the story or if they felt forced (more preachy).  I would say… a little of both.  For me, I like faith based books with some meat to them – not fluff and all is right with the world…. real life issues, messy even and I think Karen Kingbury delivered… after all, we do have a mix up of identities and a man living with another mans wife -falling in love with her.   There were a few moments in the book that felt a little forced, but I would not say over done – just enough for me notice the push. 

It’s not an easy read, but it is a worthwhile one.  Even if you are not a reader of Christian Fiction I think you would find this book a great read.  There are two more books in this series, and I will go on to read the second one Beyond Tuesday Morning, because I loved the characters and seeing what happens next is very appealing to me.  However – you don’t need to feel that this book left you hanging on for another book… it doesn’t.  You could easily stop right here with this one as it comes to a wonderful close.

Please check out Martha’s review – I asked her a couple of question for her review and thought she had great answers.

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include One Tuesday Morning

I purchased this from audible.com