Reviewed by Joy Hannabass for Readers' Favorite

For pediatric surgeon Elizabeth Finch, life is not always perfect, and throws its punches hard, sometimes because of the choices she makes, but sometimes it just happens. We start following Liz’s story when she finds out that her daughter has been shot. And we continue as she seeks to find help in the journey she is facing as her life keeps unraveling before her eyes. Patrick K. Dawson captures the hearts of his readers in his book “Lessons in the Journey,” a provoking, moving and heartwarming story that will draw you into its pages and won’t let you go until you finish reading. As with all of us facing difficult issues in life, Liz was definitely not ready for what life brought her way, and she seems to ask the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

We get to know Liz through the flashbacks into her life, meeting the important people in her life along the way. I enjoyed reading the story this way since it gave me the overall feeling of what her life was like: the emotions, the fears, and the pain and suffering she went through. And I could feel the struggles Liz had with her faith throughout her life as well, not at all easy for her. We can take many things from this beautifully written story. Having a strong relationship with the Lord, and trusting Him during our difficulties, and learning how He can take the difficult things and make something good out of them are all very valuable lessons. And the fact is that bad things happen to everyone, in similar ways to some, differently to some others. The important thing is how we handle the situations.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. And for me the most fascinating thing about this book is that it is written by a man. You will wonder how he writes a story so beautifully that it captures the hearts of women. This would be a wonderful book for a book club to read and discuss!