Land of Silence by Tessa Afshar

 In the usual Tessa Afshar fashion, we meet yet another woman from the Bible that is destined to be your friend.  Land of Silence is due out in May of 2016.  I received a complimentary preview e-copy to read and review from Tyndale House Publishers and Netgalley.com.

This is the story of Elianna, who is better known as the woman who simply touched Jesus garment and was healed of a 12 year issue of blood.  I have always wrestled with this short passage, thinking this woman was so shy.  Afshar shows just how strong this woman really was, and what courage and faith she really had.  Afshar fleshes out an entire life to the point you feel you have been a part of this woman's life.  I can't wait to get to Heaven and sit down for coffee and chat to hear her real story.  For now, I thank Ms. Afshar and God that I have this story to fill my imagination and bring life to another part of the Bible.

In true Afshar fashion, she pays attention to historical detail, as well as shining a light on Biblical truths.  I had never connected the two twelves in the story of this woman, and the little girl that Jesus was on his way to heal.  I thought that was brilliant.

We witness the story of Elianna's life starting at a young age.  While she has hopes and dreams, we go through her life seeing how circumstances and choices can reshape dreams.  Some dreams do work out to become a reality, while other dreams are put on hold for what seems a lifetime.  The lessons we can learn from Elianna are "Never giving up hope".  Afshar uses the Biblical account of this woman's life as the climax of the story.  Through this we see how much God loves each one of us.  Life will throw us curve balls, and we have the choice to continue to trust that God knows what He is doing with our lives, or strike out on our own and grow bitter.  Read about Elianna and her amazing faith that helped her to believe that she could be healed by simply touching Jesus garment.  You will find that by reading this book, you have reached out to touch Jesus and he will heal your broken parts too.

Again my thanks to Tyndale House Publishers for the advanced e-copy to read and review.