Shards of Light

By Susan Miura

Description:

Ice crystalizes around Shilo’s heart, threatening to plunge her into darkness as she’s gripped by evil. And it is only Week Two of her summer-long exile to Sicily. But Shilo will face the evil, and the torment of missing Kenji, because the reason she crossed an ocean is worth that and more. Nonna Marie, her great-grandmother, the one who set their family tree on fire. Years ago, she received The Gift – a miraculous, divine power to heal. The same power bestowed upon Shilo just before her seventeenth birthday. Becoming a Healer has already led to danger and heartache, but it is nothing compared to what lies ahead. High on Mt. Etna, in a centuries-old convent, Shilo will discover the horrors of human trafficking, heroic feats propelled by courage and faith, and the unbearable pain of another loss.

On a ballet stage halfway around the world, Melody grand jetés into a life-changing moment. But after years of strenuous preparation, something goes terribly wrong. When she regains consciousness, her ballet dreams lie shattered, piercing Melody with shards of hopelessness. What is life without ballet? And how will she survive this ordeal without Shilo? As Melody struggles to piece together the fragments of her broken life, she reflects on the Nigerian-Russian parents she never knew, and a pair of hauntingly familiar ebony eyes.

Book Takeaway:

I believe each of us possesses gifts that can make a difference in the world, even if "the world" means one community, one family, or one person. Shilo's gift is extraordinary, but others in the book use the less dramatic gifts God gave them, combined with their faith, to help others. I wanted people to read this book and see what Christianity really looks like when it's working the way God intended. Takeaway 2 is that God sees us in our deepest, darkest moments, when we think he's forgotten us, and is there to pull us into the light if we just reach out.

Awards:

Why the author wrote this book:

I wrote this book to show that great feats can be accomplished by ordinary people who trust God and believe in miracles. Additionally, I wanted it to serve as a powerful reminder that there is no point in our lives too dark or too horrible for God's mighty hand to reach.