Remember Me: A Novella about Finding Our Way to the Cross
Ebook
"'It is finished,' Jesus says. It's a bold declaration for us to make too. What does it mean to say 'It is finished' when so much is unfinished? It means we are people who live hope in two directions, both backward and forward. We long for the kingdom to come in fullness, even as it has already come. And we trust that the One who has begun the good work in us and for us will indeed complete it."
In this sequel to Shades of Light, Katherine Rhodes, the beloved director of the New Hope Retreat Center, finds her own grief tapped by Wren Crawford's struggles with depression and loss. Through a series of letters to Wren, Katherine reflects on the meaning of Christ's suffering and shares her own story of finding hope. How does one begin to live again under the crushing weight of grief? And how can healing come when there's so much left unresolved?
With Katherine as a companion in sorrow, Wren moves forward in her commitment to paint the stations of the cross for a prayer journey at New Hope, discovering along the way a deeper communion with the Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief.
Readers are invited into a similar journey of reflection through Katherine's words and Wren's paintings. At the back of the book, a devotional guide with Scripture readings, prayer prompts, and full-color art provides the opportunity to ponder the depths of God's love by meditating on Jesus' journey to the cross.
1. The Word Became Flesh
2. The Gift of Myrrh
3. Taking the Cup
4. With a Kiss
5. Awakened
6. Accused
7. Bearing the Cross
8. Lament
9. Stripped
10. Pierced
11. It Is Finished
12. Into Your Hands
13. Buried
14. Risen
Epilogue
Journey to the Cross
Acknowledgments
"When we face great pain or loss, these are the times when we may be tempted to ask whether God's care is reliable. And it is especially in times like these when Jesus speaks from the place of his cross. He empathizes with us and is present to help. In Remember Me, Sharon tells a compelling and grace-rich story that helps us enter into these realities. I was touched and helped as I read. I believe you will be, too."
"I've already read Remember Me more than once, and as with all of Sharon Garlough Brown's novels, I'll savor it again. Through her true-to-life characters and powerful story, she interweaves themes of suffering, lament, and mental health with beauty, hope, and resurrection. When I finished it, my faith in our living, loving God was strengthened and renewed."
"Most of us find grief and waiting to be two of the most challenging aspects of life. With the skillful precision of a spiritual director, Sharon Garlough Brown connects us with engaging characters who are working through deep loss. Remember Me offers hope in the midst of waiting and empathy in the midst of grief. Thank you, Sharon, for leading us straight to the cross, where we find a suffering Christ, ready to meet us."
"Can the path of suffering and grief carry us to a place of healing as we journey to the cross? Author Sharon Garlough Brown's new book Remember Me offers a stunningly beautiful narrative of restoration and redemption in two women's lives. . . . I loved this tender telling of the slow dance into new life and highly recommend it for any season of sorrow, but especially during Lent. I'm grateful it includes a Stations of the Cross personal exercise. What a poignant reminder that new life will come as we persevere in seeking the Lord."
"Sharon Garlough Brown understands the powerful potential of letter writing and art to express deepest feelings. She lets one of the protagonists of her beautifully and sensitively written novel bare her soul, expose her grief, and affirm her deep faith to the young artist struggling with her own grief and faith and confidence in her artistic abilities. For both the writer of the letters and the receiver, this thoughtful way of communicating brings peace, resolution, and healing. Remember Me offers the reader a powerful tool of self-reflection and a safe and intimate way to explore the depths of the soul—through letter-journaling as well as through the expressive language of art."
"One of the deepest human longings is the longing to be understood—and there are few experiences in life when this ache surfaces more urgently than in the throes of depression and grief. In Remember Me, Sharon Garlough Brown vividly illuminates what it's like to be engulfed in depression's shadow and isolated by its despair. She puts words to what many of us have experienced but lack a vocabulary to describe. Through the sometimes tentative yet always tender support given by Kit to Wren, Brown illustrates what it looks like to heal in and through relationship. This novella is unquestionably written for those longing to be understood and those seeking to understand the desolate experience of mental illness."
"Remember Me, Sharon Garlough Brown's sequel to Shades of Light, is a novella filled with heartbreaking beauty and profound truth. Readers will savor this story as they join Kit and Wren on a Lenten journey contemplating the stations of the cross. Kit's letters to Wren, grace filled and laced with deep sorrow from her own trauma and heartbreak, show how Christ uses 'companions in sorrow' to come alongside those who are grieving. There are no easy answers here, but the reader is invited to sit with both Kit and Wren in the not knowing, not having the answers they hoped for, not having one kind of closure but finding closure in a better way. The artwork and reflection questions add yet another dimension to this potentially life-changing message. I found great hope and freedom in this story."
"If the literary world had a spiritual director, Sharon Garlough Brown would be it. Through the backdoor of the imagination, she encourages us to brave vulnerability in spiritual friendships and gently prods us toward a more robust vision of genuine community. I can think of no other living novelist doing this so consistently, with such wisdom, excellence, and patience."
Product Details
- Title : Remember Me: A Novella about Finding Our Way to the Cross
- Author: Brown, Sharon Garlough
- Publisher: IVP Books
- Publication Date: 2020
- ISBN: 9780830848324
Sharon Garlough Brown is a spiritual director, speaker, and cofounder of Abiding Way Ministries, providing spiritual formation retreats and resources. She is the author of the bestselling Sensible Shoes Series, which includes spiritual fiction novels Sensible Shoes, Two Steps Forward, Barefoot, An Extra Mile, and their study guides. A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, Sharon has served on the pastoral staff of congregations in Scotland, Oklahoma, England, and most recently in West Michigan, where she copastored with her husband, Jack, for many years. In March 2013 her book Sensible Shoes was named one of television personality Kathie Lee Gifford's "favorite things." Her most recent book is Shades of Light.