How the Light Gets In

How the Light Gets In is Jolina Petersheim's modern retelling of the story of Ruth. This is the first of her books I've read, but after finishing this one, I look forward to reading more.

I've always loved the story of Ruth. This version is one I'm glad I took time to read. In How the Light Gets In, Ruth and Chandler are husband and wife. They met doing missions work at an orphanage, and adopted their first child there just about as soon as they were married. At first they were very much in love with each other, but life happened, communication fell short, and that glow of new love was replaced with resentment and bitterness. Chandler went to do humanitarian work in Afghanistan with his father, leaving Ruth and their children behind.

When she receives word that Chandler is dead, killed in a bombing half a world away, Ruth retreats to the Wisconsin Mennonite community he grew up in, to bury him. There she gets to know her mother-in-law and other family members, who are not perhaps what she expected. She also finds herself struggling to provide comfort to her girls, and to work through what it means to live up to the expectations God has for us versus the expectations we have for ourselves and each other, and what it means to be in God's will.

The story unfolds through flashbacks, letters, and journal entries. One of my favorite quotes was from Ruth's father (who was seen only in flashbacks): “God's will is like this hand. The five fingers represent the five different routes your life could take - and yet, regardless of what you choose, are you still not contained in the palm of his hand?”

This book made me smile. It made me cry. And the twist at the end - well, let me just tell you I'm glad I was sitting down, and I had to go back and re-read, because I was thinking, “Wait, did that just happen?!” It wasn't a “sweetness and light, happy happy joy joy” book, necessarily, but it was a worthwhile read.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, Tyndale. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions here are my own, and I don't say nice things about books I don't like.