Let's Bust a Recap : Being Known

Well, it's November 9th and even though 2020 has felt like it would never end in some ways, in other ways it has flown by just like any other year. Blogging has gone a little bit better this year than it did in 2019, but as it stands I have nine finished books waiting to be recapped, three books I'm currently reading, at least five other books I'd like to read by the end of 2020, and only about eight weeks left until New Years Eve. If you do the math on that it equals impossible, but let's give it the old college try, shall we?

Starting with this sweet new release that I read back in April. Yes, we're still catching up on books from the first half of the year. If memory serves, Being Known by Robin Jones Gunn was released April 28th, and, as I usually do with a new book by Mrs. Gunn, I promptly snatched it out of my mailbox as soon as our mail lady dropped it off and sat down to read it. Being Known is the second book in Gunn's new Haven Makers Series, and this novel focuses on Jennalyn's life. In the first book entitled Becoming Us (which was released last May) we meet a group of women who determine to prioritize their friendships with one another and end up becoming (get it?) a close-knit group of kindred spirits who help and encourage each other through the different joys and trials they encounter. If you're familiar with Robin Jones Gunn's work (which I am...intimately), two of the characters are already old friends: Christy and Sierra. Becoming Us focused in on Emily's life who had just recently moved to the Southern California area. In that book, Jennalyn was the instigator of the small group and in this book, we travel with her as she continues to process the grief of her mother's death.

Even though Jennalyn's mother has been gone for six years at the start of Being Known, the grief hits her in a new and overwhelming way as she settles in to life as a mother of two with a husband who is working a lot. In her vulnerability, she finds herself opening up to an old boyfriend that she bumps into who also has lots of fond memories of her mom.

Not only was this novel about intentional friendship so timely during the height of lockdowns and social distancing, it navigated the murky waters of social media relationships in such a real and grace-full way. I found myself sympathizing with Jennalyn and her struggle to discern wise boundaries, and rooting for her to open herself up to her friends' caring counsel and confide in the best people to help her through her grief. I so appreciate Robin Jones Gunn's ability to write these stories that address the issues we face today as friends—whether married, single, mothers, or without children—seeking to honor God in all our relationships. 

I'm also thankful for my real life DOEs who send me "Oh My, Cherry Pie" nail polish in the mail and come over for a middle-school style slumber party bash when our grown-up plans for a Girls' Weekend Away (that we'd been planning for a year) got cancelled due to corona. God blessed in the midst of the turmoil this year with not just an encouraging new book by my favorite author, but with true friends who have fleshed out the sweet relationships pictured in those books I love. 

~April 2020~

Looking forward to the next book in the Haven Makers Series. None have been announced as of yet, but I'm hoping we'll get a book from Tess's point of view soon!

What have you found to be thankful for during the year of corona?