The Art of Losing Yourself

Do you ever feel like your drowning in your life, and no one notices? Everyday it seems like everyone is going along with their own lives, while you are watching yours fall apart bit by bit. You pray, but it even feels like God has abandoned you? Then you know exactly what Carmen Hart feels like almost every single day. Being married to her childhood sweetheart, they had always wanted a family. Yet it seems like its just not in God's plan for their life. After having six miscarriages, Carmen has lost more than her will to life, she seems to have lost her sanity at the same time.

Being in the public eye has never posed a problem in the past, but when shopping for a friends baby shower gifts at Toys R Us, and walks back to her car, she sees an expectant mother sign and completely loses it. After running over the sign repeatedly, she never expected someone to film it and post it to YouTube. Now as the local weathergirl this is not the type of publicity the station is looking for and tells Carmen to take some time off, til this blows over.

Only Carmen can't even discuss any of this with her husband Ben, because after losing so many children, she has put up walls between them and has no intention on taking them down any time soon. She finds solace renovating an old motel that has been in their family for generations. It's either fix it up and attempt to get it running again or sell the dilapidated property and let part of her treasured past go. What she doesn't expect to find there is her seventeen-year-old sister Gracie living there because it is the only real place she can call home. Their mother has turned back to alcohol once again and just seems like their parental roles have been reversed. Gracie is struggling to fit in where it seems like she doesn't and finds solace in the memories from years past in the old motel. Will this restoration project prove to be just what they both need to reconcile their pasts and move to a brighter future?

I received The Art of Losing Yourself by Katie Ganshert compliments of WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers and Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions contained here are strictly my own. This is such a great novel and truly enjoyed reading it over the weekend. It is such an escape from life, because you can definitely relate to either the characters of Gracie or Carmen. They are both struggling with the demands others have unfairly placed on them even though neither of them will admit it to those closest to them. They keep those buried deep inside instead of confronting them and sharing them with the very people that they need to. I found myself relating more to Carmen because of her apparent need to appear that she is all put together on the outside, but is literally falling apart on the inside. It's like we have to appear strong for others, but never let others see our need for comfort in our own personal struggles. I would have loved to see how some of the situations resolve themselves by the end, and am hoping there might be a sequel to this one in the near future! Well worth every single one of the 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion. There is a discussion guide at the conclusion of this book which is perfect for book clubs!

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The Art of Losing Yourself by Katie Ganshert

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