Whispers from Yesterday: a story of healing through the past

Whispers from Yesterday by Robin Lee Hatcher is a story of the stories of the past healing the present. As the story opens, Karen Butler opens her eyes in a hospital after a failed suicide attempt. She had lost everything when her father’s business ventures failed and he killed himself to hide from the fall out. She is urged to go to her estranged grandmother’s ranch in Idaho. There Sophia Taylor runs a youth summer camp for at risk boys. With the help of Dusty Stoddard, she hopes to help these young men from turning down the wrong path. The sudden appearance of Karen lifts Sophia’s hopes that she can redeem herself from her life’s regrets. At Sophia’s urging, Karen begins to read her great-aunt Esther’s diaries. Inside holds the secrets long buried. As Karen begins to learn the truth, can she finally find a purpose and a place to belong? Or will the truth chase her away once again? 

Whispers from Yesterday is a story of the present mixed with the diary entries from the past. It is a story of salvation as Karen, who resists the calling of Jesus, as she sees herself as unworthy and unlovable, finds herself drawn to the one who loved her first. It is a heartbreaking story as well as a story of hope that we are not alone even in our darkest hours. Karen’s questions and resistances to salvation are the same that many of us face as we cannot conceive that Jesus loves them as they are and is ready to help them. I enjoyed each character as they are fully flawed and related. My only complement is that the ending was much too abrupt for me. There were a few plot lines that were left hanging as the story ends. Overall, I enjoyed the story and I recommend Whispers from Yesterday. 

Whispers from Yesterday is available in paperback and eBook