Laughing with Lily

By Eileen Hinkle Rife

Description:

A long-buried secret.
An unexpected encounter.
A quest for answers.

Celeste Tatem, a special-education teacher at The Brighton Center in Schreiber, Indiana, couldn’t be more in love with her husband, Joe. But the memory of one day in the past haunts her, threatening their relationship. When Joe dies in a factory explosion, she sinks into depression.

It will take the arrival of a new student, Lily, and her delightful honesty, laughter, and joy at life’s little things to awaken Celeste to hope. When Don, an old flame from college, reenters Celeste’s world, the flickers of love stir once again, and startling questions arise. Questions that threaten to rip the veneer off of her carefully guarded secret. Then the most unexpected thing of all happens….

A story of love and forgiveness
in the most unexpected places.

“Reaches into the deepest recesses of women’ hearts, encouraging them to hold tight to those they hold dear.”
JENNIFER SLATTERY, Novel Reviews

“Sweet, suspenseful, and heartwarming. I couldn’t put it down.”
DIANE DEAN WHITE, Seeds of Encouragement blog

“A top-notch, no-holds-barred, excellent story full of twists and turns, dilemmas, inspiration, and romance.”
KATHLEEN FREEMAN, Beauty in Simplicity, Hope in Hard Times

Book Takeaway:

I want readers to know that God delights in making something beautiful out of the ugly circumstances of our lives. Whether it’s an abortion attempt like Celeste encountered or a serious, debilitating accident as in Joe’s case, God can use human tragedy to draw us close and move us into relationship with Him. I also want readers to know that often in the “letting go,” we can discover God’s love in deeper ways.

Why the author wrote this book:

Two reasons: I wanted to take a trip down memory lane, returning to a time when my husband and I were newly-married, thirty-seven years ago. I also wanted to highlight abortion, showing the struggle that many mothers have in the wake of aborting their babies.