A FEELING OF HOME by SUSAN ANNE MASON

Publication date 7/7/22

A FEELING OF HOME is the third novel in the Redemption’s Light series by SUSAN ANNE MASON. It is a lovely read with exceptional characters whose emotions are very real, and with a strong Christian message of grace, forgiveness and redemption on which the novel is based. We are reminded that everyone is precious in the sight of God. The subject of what finding a home entails is beautifully brought out by the author.
The story takes place in 1944 in Toronto. The Bennington Maternity Home and its owners, Ruth and Olivia, play a big part in the story. Although the book can stand alone, I suggest you read the second novel for pure enjoyment and in  order to get more background. 
Isabelle Wardrop’s demand that Dr Mark Henshaw leave his patient in labour at the Bennington Maternity Home, risking both her life and the baby’s, and go with her to attend to her dying mother, who refused to go by ambulance to hospital, shows us, not only her love for her mother, but also the result of her entitled upbringing.
However, we see what she is really made of when she loses her fortune and home and she and her seventeen year old  sister Marissa end up living near the tenements with Fiona, a devoted servant, and Fiona’s Aunt Rosie. Isabelle struggles to find employment, but ends up getting a maid’s job at a hotel. She is determined to do all she can to give Marissa a future,  but her sister is behaving strangely and will not cooperate by working hard at school. She soon sees the fickleness of her society friends and finds Mark Henshaw extremely helpful and forgiving.
Mark’s brother, Josh, is rebellious and angry, and Mark worries that his brother is going to lose his chance of studying medicine at university the way he is missing classes. His Friend Olivia from the maternity home gives him some good advice. Like Isabelle with her sister, Mark is worrying too much about his brother…..
I cannot recommend A Feeling of Home strongly enough as a most enjoyable, inspirational and thought provoking read.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bethany House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.