Legacy Road, by Graham Garrison (Kregel)

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Fine book; really good story.

Mr. Garrison has crafted a tale well worthy of its prequel, Hero’s Tribute, in depth and thought-provoking poignancy.

Set near Athens, Georgia, Legacy Road follows Wes Watkins, the sportswriter who had delivered the eulogy of hometown hero Michael Gavin in Hero’s Tribute.  Now a freelance writer, Wes is on an even keel and doing well—until the end of the first chapter.  His world begins to crumble with an disrupted attempt to propose marriage to Emmy, an ER nurse soon due to deploy to Afghanistan, and her awkward rebuff of that proposal.  Close on the heels of this jolt is the forced reappearance in his life of his wayward father, his mother’s suddenly deteriorating health, and the pressures of an overly demanding professor supervising Wes’ post-graduate studies.  All of these stresses combine to shake Wes’ personal world and his young faith.

Legacy Road examines the issues of forgiveness and trust with brutal, yet compassionate, honesty.  Set against the backdrop of the Civil War, part of his post-graduate studies, Wes’ own journey is mirrored through letters his father had sent him from prison, some of which he’d never read, and letters preserved from an ancestor who fought for the South in the very campaigns his course work focuses upon.  These thrust upon him decisions regarding that forgiveness and trust that he finds himself ill prepared to face.

If you’re looking for a novel filled with jeeps blowing up and grisly murder scenes, skip this one.  However, if you dare look past the sensational into an evenly written, thoughtful reflection of human fallibility, and how interpersonal relationships suffer but can recover from it, Legacy Road is a sure bet.

Happily, Kregel Publishers sent me this copy of Legacy Road free of charge to review.  I was planning to purchase it anyway.  J
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