A BEAUTIFUL FALL BY CHRIS COPPERNOLL is is the second novel by Chris Coppernoll that I have read. I posted a review on Providence by him on the 18th April. I really enjoy his writing style and can highly recommend his books. Emma Madison grew up in Juneberry in a community where she was loved and well cared for. Her closest friends were Samantha, Christina and Michael.
Emma's father, Will, is a loving father who has had to bring Emma up alone after his wife died when his daughter was five years old. There is something missing in Emma's life and as a child she was always looking for her mother, who she couldn't really remember. There was a certain oppression in their home which was filled with photos of her mother, and when she is given a box of mementos that meant a lot to her mother, she buries it. She is ashamed of her feelings and is afraid of telling anyone how she feels. This is what leads to her decision to leave Juneberry behind her. She doesn't even say goodbye to Michael, with whom she has had a very close relationship, and who everyone thought she would marry one day. She hasn't been back for twelve years when she receives a message that her father has had a heart attack and is in hospital.
Emma is a successful and beautiful young lawyer and is a partner in a law firm in Boston. She has just won a very important case for her firm. Colin, one of her colleagues, is also a successful lawyer and it is felt that they would make an ideal couple. Emma has a good life in Boston, but life there is completely different to life in Juneberry. There is not much chance to unwind in Boston.
Emma loves her father dearly and feels terribly guilty for not having been home to see him for so long. Her return to Juneberry is a turning point in her life. Her friends welcome her with open arms and unconditional love. From the moment she is met at the airport by Noel, Christina and Jim's son, to when she is taken to the airport for her return to Boston, she feels the love of the Lord in all the wonderful people that have played such a big part in her life. She comes to the painful realization that she has shut people who love her out of her life and not only wounded them, but also wounded herself.
There is still a strong bond between her and Michael. She is in turmoil, like a leaf that is blown about by the fall wind, but he is at peace with himself and his Lord, like a tree firmly rooted in the ground.
The weather plays a big part in this story. For example, when she returns to Boston to an important meeting, it is cold and raining heavily. Before returning to Juneberry she had forgotten how beautiful it was in the country. The heavy rain and cold in Juneberry gives rise to happy memories and times spent with the man she still has feelings for.
She is not ready to return to her life in Boston and stays longer than she originally intended. Colin keeps phoning her to see how she is getting on, telling her she needs to come back "where she belongs". But where does she really belong? She is determined not to be rushed, as she has given the firm years of her life and now is determined to make her family her priority.
Robert Adler, her boss, is not used to people saying no to him, and is exasperated at her long absence from the firm. She compares the greed and manipulation shown by Robert when she is back in the office and he offers her huge money and even political success in order to keep her, with the Christian love and forgiveness she has just experienced, and realizes that people are more important than position and success.
Will Madison is a praying man. He has always been there for Emma, even though she wasn't always there for him. He is grateful for his heart attack as it has brought his daughter home for a few days. The way he welcomes his "prodigal daughter" home and then lets go of her when she has to go back to Boston at the end of the week, reminds us of God's amazing grace towards us. This time, however, she does say goodbye to those she loves. Michael also lets her go, but this time he goes to Boston to see what choice she is really going to make this time!
This is a story of love, forgiveness and God's mercy. We see the importance of the choices we make, not only in our own lives but in the lives of those we love. We see the relationships between the different characters and what love and commitment produces in their lives. There is a strong Christian message and a lot to learn and enjoy in this sensitively and beautifully written novel.
