Journeys of Faithfulness

Sarah Clarkson, daughter of Clay and Sally Clarkson, has written a book for young women called "Journeys of Faithfulness." It is a book of stories about the life and faith of five women in the Bible which include Mary, Martha, Mary, the mother of Jesus, Esther, and Ruth. Sarah takes the life of women in the Bible and then sets their story to life for her readers. I think of it has historical fiction and it is enjoyable to linger on familiar women in the Bible and see them brought to life in Sarah's writings. Can't you just see the sibling rivalry between Mary and Martha in this section?

Martha beat the batter as if it were Mary. She glared into her bowl and smacked it on the wooden table and growled under her breath. Left alone, again. Left to cook and tend, to fetch the water and greet the guests. Left by a sister who was forever happy these days, while Martha herself felt only harried...She maintained her household and fed multitudes, and they all, siblings and honored guests alike, pranced about enjoying her the fruits of her labor and never did anyone think what it cost Martha. No one ever saw. 

This section draws the reader into the castle where Esther is living and is receiving her daily beauty treatments:

Esther felt that her skin would soon dissolve in the daily salt scrubbings and perfumed soakings that set the cadence of her days. These treatments supposedly cleansed their victims of blemish and sloughing all roughness and stain away. What they really cleansed, thought Esther, was any sense of self. 

This book is written for young women (ages 12 and up), but on Apologia's site, they do mention how it would be a lovely book for mothers and daughters to read and discuss together. My oldest daughter will be 10 in just a few days so she is younger than the recommended age, so I read the book aloud to her. Then we discussed the reading, and at the end of the section there are scriptures to look up together, questions to answer, and a few pages reserved for journaling (which we both love).

This book reminded me of Francine River's novellas from her "Lineage of Grace" series. The writings are based on scripture, but both authors definitely use what they know from scripture, historical customs, and then use their imaginations to tell a little more about the women's story from their point-of-view. Sarah's writings made my daughter and I want to read the actual accounts from the Bible to learn more and go deeper for ourselves. In no way are her writings intended to take away, add to, or replace scripture.

My Daughter's Thoughts after reading part one (the first three chapters of the book):

Mary wasn't afraid to sit at the feet of Jesus. 

We discussed how Mary knew Jesus loved her and that drew her to sit at his feet.

As a home educating mother who has a daughter who loves to read and write, it gave me great joy to "introduce" my daughter to Sarah Clarkson, a young woman who grew up in a home similar to ours and is now a published author.

Pricing and Ordering Information:
This book is for sale at Apologia's website and is priced at $13.00.
Apologia has many resources available and I would highly recommend anything this company publishes.

You can read more reviews on this book by visiting the Schoolhouse Review Crew's website. 

*Disclaimer: This book was received free of charge for review purposes, but all opinions are my own.*