Home

"One way to describe it is a longing for home, though that's not quite accurate. The Welsh have a word for it: hiraeth. It's difficult to translate in English, but I've heard it described as a homesickness for a home you can't return to. Our a place that never was. I've come to acknowledge it in myself as a longing for God. 'Eternity set in the hearts of men,' as Solomon so eloquently wrote."

I guess everyone has their own definition of what "home" really means. All I know is it is NOT confined to the walls of a brick and mortar building, but it is what is located in my heart. "It is either the sturdy foundation or the crumbling underpinnings a child is built upon." Home is in here. In our hearts, and time or distance have no bearing on it or cause us to lose our sense of where home really is.

In Ginny L. Yttrup's latest novel, "Home," we get a sense of what it means for quite a few of her characters. For married couple Melanie and Craig, who have been married for twenty-three years are struggling to come to terms with where their future might be headed. After learning that they can't have children, they have both faced their own uncertainties. Craig is a home builder struggling to manage both his business and home with the rising financial downturns of the local economy. All he knows is that he has to come clean with Melanie that they might have to sell their custom built home and cut spending until things pick up. He feels at fault for not providing for their family. Melanie, a successful author now on her sixteenth novel, but is now wondering if she has more creativity left to inspire her to her looming deadline with her publisher. She wants to contribute to the finances, but if she can't complete this novel, they will have to look at selling their dream home.

Their neighbors Marcos and Jill are facing their own struggles as well. For Jill it is dealing with her OCD behaviors that are beginning to impact her way of life and the way she relates to her family. She believes it has to do with a recurring nightmare that she is putting together bits and pieces of things that don't make sense to her. When she tries to explain it to her mother, she is dismissed. However it is possible these aren't nightmares but repressed memories? All she knows is that if she doesn't get help soon, she will come unglued and possibly hurt herself or her family without meaning to. Her only ally is her best friend Melanie, but even they are dealing with their own issues and now that Melanie has taken a trip away to a lakeside home to finish her novel, is it possible it is the end of her marriage as well to Craig?

I received Home by Ginny L. Yttrup compliments of Barbour Publishing and Net Galley. In accordance with the new FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, you should assume that every book reviewed here at Reviews From The Heart was provided to the reviewer by the publisher, media group or the author for free and were received, unless specified otherwise. This novel really hit home for me after a particular rough Mother's Day and found myself questioning whether I made a difference in the lives of our family. I can't believe how much I found myself relating to Melanie's character. Struggling to understand if she loved Craig as much as she should being married or it is possible they simply have grown apart. Is there a way to put things back together and see one another differently now that they're in different places in their personal and professional relationships. One thing is certain, temptation is just around the corner in places they least expected. Home is found in our hearts! Everything else is simply temporary. We are all created to live life to the full, and we can only do that if we're willing to fully participate! That is what I realized, after reading this novel. It isn't about what others are doing, but what we contribute to the life we are living. We can partner with our spouse or walk away. It is always better to work together!! There are some great discussion questions at the conclusion of this novel that would be great for a book club. For me, this one earns a 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion, because it changed something even in my own heart, and for a novel to that, it has to be extraordinary.

For more information about Home, Ginny Yttrup or where you can pick a copy of this novel today by clicking on the links below:

Home by Ginny L. Yttrup

You can find Ginny L. Yttrup on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on Home, please visit Barbour Publishing's website.