Marian Baay reviews THE MERCIFUL SCAR by Rebecca St. James & Nancy Rue

The Merciful Scar

THE MERCIFUL SCAR

By Rebecca St. James & Nancy Rue

Thomas Nelson, 2013

Reviewed by Marian Baay

~5 stars~*****

When Kirsten was sixteen a tragedy happened to a family member and because of her guilt she started cutting herself to try to ease the pain inside of her.

Now she is twenty-three and is still struggling with pain deep inside her. One night, after a fight with her boyfriend, she wants to cut herself. She didn’t expect her boyfriend to return at the very moment she was cutting herself, and that things could get so dangerous. She ends up in a hospital psychiatric ward, because people believe she tried to kill herself.

A pastor from church stops by and tells her about Sister Frankie, an ex-nun, who takes girls like Kirsten under her care and ministers to them, so they can find healing at her ranch.

Kirsten knows nothing about ranching or sheep, but since she has no other options she decides to hear Sister Frankie out. Frankie is not the ‘sister’ she had expected to see—wearing jeans, boots and a baseball cap.  Kirsten decides to give it a chance and goes with Frankie to her ranch for 30 days.

As a fragile and skinny girl, Kirsten finds ranch work heavy, but after some time she is learning and getting stronger. She also finds new friends and favorite animals to care for.

Frankie is like a mentor to Kirsten and she encourages her to listen to God’s voice. With Sister Frankie’s loving care and spiritual guidance, slowly understanding the things that haunt her will dawn and healing can begin.

Even Sister Frankie’s handsome nephew, Andy, seems to have ghosts from his past haunting him. A sweet friendship blooms between Andy and Kirsten and together they try to find healing from the scars of the past.

A touching story about a young woman who couldn’t carry her guilt on her own. She tried to relieve some of the hurt by cutting herself, but finally found healing in the most unexpected place. The reader will often be reminded of Psalm 23 throughout the book—The Lord is my Shepherd.

The authors captured the emotional aspect of the story very well and the tough subject was also made easily comprehensible for Young Adult readers.

Find Nancy's books at Amazon, CBD, B&N, DeeperShopping, and other bookstores.

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Interview with Nancy Rue – Overcoming Depression

Nancy Rue

Nancy  Rue is the co-author of The Merciful Scar, written with Rebecca St. James.

Nancy, welcome to Overcoming With God.  We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers. 

It’s an honor to be asked.

Would you tell us about the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help? 

I would have to say my struggle with clinical depression. I’ve been through a lot of loss of loved ones and have had some physical issues myself, but the mental challenge has been the most difficult to deal with and heal from. It’s largely under control now, but daily I, first of all, thank God for both medication and deep spiritual healing, and secondly, stay conscious of my thoughts and how they can lead me into trouble! The loss of perspective that comes with depression can be frightening and I have to say that having lived through a number of episodes, I am closer to God and get my perspective from him. 

(CFP: PTL that you are doing well, Nancy. Thank you for sharing. This is a relatively common disorder but few people talk about it. Somewhere near 10% of the general population suffers from it at any given time.)

Disability friendliness: Is this latest release available in audio format or do you have any other works available on audio?  Do your e-books have audio capability? Do you have any in large print?  

All of my adult novels before The Merciful Scar are available as audio books: the three Sullivan Crisp novels (Healing Stones, Healing Waters, and Healing Sands) and the three Reluctant Prophet novels (The Reluctant Prophet, Unexpected Dismounts, and Too Far To Say Far Enough). Since Thomas Nelson, the publisher of this most recent book, traditionally produces an audio version, it’s safe to assume they will for The Merciful Scar as well. My father was blind for several years before he died, and in those days (the 60’s) he had what were known as “Talking Books” – read on vinyl records. I would sit with him for hours listening; in fact, that was my first “reading” of Pride and Prejudice.  All that to say, I am a great supporter of audio books.    

(CFP: My daughter and I LOVED all of Nancy Rue's books for young people. We'd read and re-read them.  I've also read the books on history with my son, who is a history buff.)

In this latest work, do you have any topics useful for bibliotherapy, or therapeutic influence through reading about a disorder or situation?

Absolutely. The presenting problem for the protagonist, Kirsten, is self-injury, also known as “cutting.” The story is actually about her healing, not simply to stop hurting herself, but to understand why she feels the need to cut into her flesh, and what the healing power of God is truly about. Another character in the book suffers from Post Traumatic Stress after serving two tours in Afghanistan (a young woman). A third, a young man, is becoming present to repressed memories. All three of them are under the care of a spiritual mentor who asks them the right questions and presents them with the opportunities to find God and thus their healing. A great deal of research went into this book, and Rebecca and I feel that it is not only relevant but accurate. Actually, all of my books are what I would call therapeutic. The Bible is always there. The mentor is always there. And God is always there. 

Thank you, Nancy, for agreeing to answer these questions.  Have a blessed day and keep on writing!!

That’s my plan! And thank YOU.

GIVEAWAY:  This week we will be giving away readers choice of ANY of Nancy's many books, choice of format. International winners ebook only unless the book is available on the Book Depository.