Reviewer: Lori Graham
Title: Over the Waters
Author: Deborah Raney
Publisher: Steeple Hill
ISBN: 0-373-78543-7
Release Date: October 2005
Genre/Sub-genre: Inspirational Romance
Year/Setting: Current/U.S. and Haiti
Overall rating: 5.0
Sexual content rating: None
Deborah's Website:
homepage.mac.com/debraney
Max Jordan has everything a man could want. After all, he has a thriving Chicago medical practice with women waiting months to see "Dr. Botox" and has so much money he has been dubbed "Max-a-million". Granted he may be divorced and not on speaking terms with his son, Joshua, but that is Joshua’s fault. Max put his son through medical school and even offered to start him in his own medical practice. Joshua chooses his own path and becomes a missionary in Haiti and discovers the Lord. Both of these choices are something Max just can’t understand especially after Joshua dies while following these paths. In order to discover what happened with Joshua, Max travels to Haiti.
Valerie Austin thought she was on track to happiness – finally. All she had ever prayed for was to be a mother to many children. Imagine her surprise to discover her fiancée doesn’t want to have any children. Valerie finally understands she can’t change his mind and grasps at the first situation, which will take her out of town – a short term mission trip to Haiti.
Max travels to the clinic/orphanage run by Madame Duval, which is where his son spent his last days. Samantha (a close friend of Joshua’s) and Madame Duval teach him a great deal about compassion. Valerie travels to an orphanage run by Pastor Phil and Madame Phil (Haiti culture calls a woman by her husband’s first name). In spite of being in different locations, Max and Valerie still find time to take walks together and really talk – each helping the other in their own way.
Deborah Raney has constructed a work of art with Over the Waters. Every once and awhile a story comes along which makes the reader slow down and really think about what they are reading and why they are reading. Over the Waters is just such a book. Max and Valerie are both in their middle age. They had both spent a lifetime making their own decisions and creating their own dreams only to discover by the time they had reached middle age what they truly desired was right in front of them. They serve as a reminder to all of us to "stop and look up" as the saying goes.
The characters show a great deal of humanity and provoke thought. I could see pieces of myself in each one – Max, Valerie, and even some of the supporting characters. I found Deborah to show a great deal of accuracy in her portrayal of Haiti. She displayed the darker side of the island while still creating a depth and even a beauty in the surroundings where others might overlook such instances like the beautiful colors in the clothing worn. The author’s writing style flowed very smoothly and transitioned flawlessly.
If you are looking for a quick, easy read, this book is not one you will want to venture into. However, keep it on hand until you have the time to really devote to reading the words but more importantly the depth beneath them.
If you are questioning yourself and your place in this world and need to connect to another person who wandered in the desert, Max and Valerie will be great companions for you – in spite of being fictional.
Lori
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