MrsK Books: The Wedding Chapel by Rachel Hauck

Sunday, April 24, 2016

The Wedding Chapel by Rachel Hauck

Title: The Wedding Chapel, Author: Rachel Hauck

ISBN: 9780310341529

Publisher's Synopsis:

For sixty years, the wedding chapel has stood silent and empty. Retired football hall-of-famer Jimmy “Coach” Westbrook built the chapel by hand, stone by stone, for his beautiful and beloved Collette Greer, whom he lost so many years ago. The chapel is a sanctuary for his memories, a monument to true love, and a testament to his survival of the deepest pain and loss.

Photographer Taylor Branson left her hometown of Heart’s Bend, Tennessee, to make a new life for herself in New York. She had lots to run away from, not least of all a family history of broken promises and broken dreams. Love catches Taylor off guard when she falls for Jack Forester, a successful advertising executive, and their whirlwind romance leads to an elopement—then to second guesses. Jack, in spite of his very real love for Taylor, is battling his own demons and struggles to show her his true self and the depths of his love for her.

Taking a photography assignment in Heart’s Bend, Taylor is thrown back into a past of family secrets buried deep beneath the sands of time. When Taylor and Coach’s journeys collide, they each rediscover the heartbeat of their own dreams as they learn that the love they long to hold is well worth the wait.

MrsK's Review:

"Gonna take a sentimental journey...

to renew old memories."

It all began in 1948, when Jimmy's best friend showed him a photo of the cousins that were coming to live in Heart's Bend, Tennessee. While Clem thinks these girls would make his life miserable, Jimmy felt like the girl in the shade of a stone chapel was someone he couldn't wait to meet. At 83, Jimmy has decided that it's time to sell the property where his wedding chapel has been waiting...

"... to give the old chapel the life it never had.

It was too late for his heart but not for the chapel's."

In 2015, Taylor finds life as a newlywed a bit like "uncharted" ground. Her marriage to Jack was quick and not at all expected. Although Taylor might be the best photographer for any red carpet event, she is committed to a photo spread with the longest running soap opera's cast. A cast which includes her granny's sister, Colette Greer. When Jack announces that he has a photo shoot for her, Taylor is delighted, who wouldn't be excited about doing a shoot for Architecture Quarterly.

Colette Greer the leading lady from Always Tomorrow. Although it has been sixty-two years since she began her career on the soap opera, she still radiates a commanding presence. Contacted by her publicist, she has agreed to be the subject of a memoir. As the "curtain" closes on one era, another opens. Colette begins a journey back to her beginnings in Heart's Bend. As with any memory, life has a way of reminding us about unfinished paths. With determination and courage, Colette must return to the chapel, even if it means seeing Jimmy.

Quietly woven into the fabric of this story, is the complexity of each character's chosen path. Choices in which the heart will require mending, faith, trust, and love,
MrsK

"Majestic with her stone walls and weather-worn beam trim,

the chapel drank in the sunlight through the cupola,

then reflected it back out through the windows.

The canopying beech and cottonwood trees stretched leafy branches over the slanted slate roof,

creating a thicket of serenity."

An enjoyable journey...

An opportunity for hearts to mend and dreams to find new life.

Meet the Author:

Rachel Hauck - Bestselling Christian Author

Everything is… story.
Yet, what really moves my heart is the pure power of story itself. One reader wrote to me and said, “I work at a bridal boutique and after reading The Wedding Dress, I’m going to changed the way I’m going to do my job. I’m going to see each bride as beautiful and unique.”
David wrote in Psalm 45, “My tongue is the pen of a ready writer!” He was a psalmist, I’m a novelist. My prayer is, “My heart, O Lord, is the pen of a ready writer.”
Since I started writing full time in ’04, I’ve discovered dreams are best realized when running in partnership with a living God. And I’ve never looked back.
So what’s your dream? Whatever it is, partner with the living Lord

My first novel was published in 2004, and since then my books have won awards, written bestsellers and I believe have given readers the chance to escape into worlds where they can breathe in the fragrance of Jesus’s love. My hope is my novels take what is true in heaven and make it real on earth in our every day lives.
My prayer is that you will know true JOY and the pleasure of your dreams coming to life! And if my stories can ease your heart for just a moment from what ever load life is laying on you, then I am honored and blessed.

"I received this book for free from the Fiction Guild for this review."

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MrsK's Reading Bio

Reading is important! No questions asked, not even a blink of the eye from any student I grew up with. On the first day of the First grade, we were given our first books. Day two we all read aloud, round robin of course. Day three we were place in our first basal, now known as a lit circle group. Books were so important, publishers designed new curriculum so that every student was reading by the end of the first week. These early readers had images that looked like what we could see in the classroom, beyond the classroom, even on the big screen. Reading is important, throughout history every generation has believed that “Reading” opens up the world for endless possibilities.

I adore the 1950’s Dick and Jane books. Actually, most reading specialists and experienced (45+) educators believe that every student learned to read with Dick and Jane. Since these books are being re-issued, I have heard many parents, grandparents, and students claim that Dick and Jane stories of repetition does teach students to read.

Early influences from my mother influenced my desire to read. I would watch her read and we would go on “secret” excursions to the library. The library became my playground. I owned every book I could carry home, of course they needed to be taken back to their home after visiting with me for a week or two. My first book that I could pull off of the library shelf and read was, Father Bear Comes Home. I only saw my dad on Sundays for a few hours. I would pull this beginning reader off of the library shelf every week. Every week I would try to read the first chapter. Every week I got further in the story. My mom would let me check it out, only if I could read it myself (She didn’t like the illustrations therefore she didn’t want to take time to read it to me). One day, I pulled the book from the shelf and when mom came to get me from the children’s corner, I realized that I had read the whole story. I ran to the check out desk and the Librarian KERCHUNKED the checkout card. My mother, brother and neighbors read. My teachers read. We all read aloud all day long in school. The Priest read aloud every day at mass, even in Latin. Everybody in the Doctor’s office read. People on the bus read. Dad’s waiting in their cars as the Mom’s and children grocery shopped, read. In fact, once you could read and write, Sunset Magazine considered you a reader and sent you mail every day.

Reading is important; I’ve spent my life reading. I’ve traveled around the world and into space through books. My favorite genre is whichever book I have open at the time. Children’s Literature is my passion. Book clubbing is one of the best past times, especially if food is involved. In fact my friends of old are in a book club and we are about to embark on a beach trip to “read” and discuss our newest selection.

My “home-run” book story has helped every student find his or her own “home-run” reads. Every year, I have shared my, Father Bear Comes Home, and every year my students have brought in their “home-run” books. That’s the “diving board” into our Lit. Studies.

In “Growing Up Digital,” Tapscott’s insights into the new generations enthusiasm for the Net reminded me of my generation’s enthusiasm for reading, movies, TV, parties and our driving permits. The Net-Generation, as Tapscott describes, “are learning, playing, communicating, working, creating communities, and enforcing a social transformation.”
N-Geners are interactive “techies” who are always looking for a way to “work it” verses the TV Generation of “Baby Boomers” who started out looking for “how it works.” Reading development is tougher today, society moves too fast to invest their “non-working” free time into a book or even “home work.” Since I stepped into my own classroom, I have seen students being told to read, being forced to read, and threatened into reading. Homework is not any longer the vehicle for students to gain their future lifestyles or careers with. Yet, the Internet does create an enthusiasm for learning. Since I have been enrolled in these courses, I have used the computers in every subject. My students are using the newest technology in the classroom because I am giving them investigative sites to use as they learn from each other and books. I agree with Tapscott, in order to bridge the gap with this up and coming generation we must “live and learn with them.”

FTC Required Disclaimer: I receive these books from the publishers. I did not receive monetary compensation for these reviews. These reviews have been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)