Softly and Tenderly by Sara Evans

Softly and Tenderly by Sara Evans is about a woman named Jade who seems to have several crisis hit her all at once. Her attorney husband, Max, is a recovering addict. Her sister faces danger on a daily basis in Guatemala. Her mother, a former hippie with terminal cancer, wants to leave Jade’s home in Whisper Hollow, Tennessee, to go home to die. Jade and her mother-in-law walk in on her father-in-law and another woman. A freak car crash destroys the entire front of Jade’s store, and infertility is a dark cloud over her head. Then comes the final, crushing blow. Her friend Rice dies in a solo plane crash, leaving a little son behind, and the father is none other than Max, who wants Jade to raise the boy as their own. I was intrigued by this book because I can relate to one of these crisis (the infertility part) so it was easy for me to get into. While I found this to be a great read, there were some things that bothered me. First, everyone calling Jade "shug" really got under my skin. I don't know why but it irritated me. This is a very "southern" book and that is evident from the beginning. I also would have liked to have seen God as a more central force in everyone's life. Otherwise a good read.

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