On Reading: Stories that Lift Me Up

Our guest contributor today is Tina Ann Forkner, author of Ruby Among Us and the recently-released Rose House (Follow that link to enter to win your own copy of that book).

When I read a book, I like to be lifted up. When I write a book, I hope to lift readers up.

It’s not that I set out planning how optimism will be interspersed throughout each of my stories, but it does seem that my characters are usually on a journey to find some sort of hope. In Rose House, there is a whole cast of characters who do everything wrong, but the story is also redemptive. Ruby Among Us shares the same quality. This isn’t exactly surprising since the novels I have come to love are all redemptive in nature no matter what genre they are in.

One of my favorite books is Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. I think it is a positively uplifting novel, yet I found its characters very real and imperfect. I could relate to them. And on a more literary note, when I read To Kill a Mockingbird I felt triumphant for the human race. The book reminded me that people aren’t all bad. The story takes a hopeless situation and through the eyes of a child, shows us that there is always a reason to believe and hope.

Another example is The Mermaid Chair. Even though parts of it made me extremely sad, and frustrated for the characters because I didn’t enjoy watching them hurt each other, at least the characters did have optimism and redemption. It was hopeful and I was inspired to take a closer look at my own heart. I like that in a book.

I find the same kind of redemption in What the Bayou Saw, by Patti Lacy and Daisy Chain, by Mary E. DeMuth. Certainly, since they are Christians, their stories are more uplifting, but I don’t think that’s the only reason. I think it’s how they write the stories. Each book examines the journey in depth, takes you to some tough places, but finds a way to give new hope. Their stories spend extra time giving readers realistic examples of how grace works in the lives of their characters.

A reader recently told me that she doesn’t usually read books like mine at all. She isn’t usually into novels that are about faith like mine are, but she does love romance and mystery, so she read Rose House anyway, as well as Ruby Among Us. Her words to me about my novels were, “What I like about your books is how they make me want to be a better person.” High praise to this author, indeed, because I can relate to what she is saying.

In Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers writes a Biblical story about a prostitute and when I first started reading the book I wondered how I could find anything to like in this deplorable woman. I wasn’t really sure it was for me, but an author friend had suggested I read it. I’m glad I did because by the end of the book, I was humbled, inspired and hopeful about life in general. It was a terribly sad story that took me to some places as a reader I didn’t feel comfortable going, but in the end, the author managed to show me grace. She made it worth the emotional journey and she even changed my life as an author. I saw that I could write a story that deals with harsh realities and still leave the reader with hope.

What matters to me when I read – or write – a novel is whether or not it contains a seed of hope that inspires me to embrace life, even a difficult life. Have you ever read a book like that? One that makes you reevaluate part of your life? Or maybe even your whole life?

What about you? Do you prefer at least a hopeful ending? Only happy endings? Do you mind fictional books and memoirs that take you to hard places and leave you there?