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    To Know You
    To Know You
    To Know You
    Ebook406 pages117 hours

    To Know You

    By Shannon Ethridge and Kathryn Mackel

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Julia Whittaker’s rocky past yielded two daughters, both given up for adoption as infants. Now she must find them to try to save her son.

    Julia and Matt Whittaker’s son has beaten the odds for thirteen years only to have the odds—and his liver—crash precipitously. The only hope for his survival is a “living liver” transplant, but the transplant list is long and Dillon’s time is short. His two older half-sisters, born eighteen months apart to two different fathers, offer his only hope for survival.

    But can Julia ask a young woman—someone she surrendered to strangers long ago and has never spoken with—to make such a sacrifice to save a brother she’s never known? Can she muster the courage to journey back into a shame-filled season of her life, face her choices and their consequences, and find any hope of healing?

    And what if she discovers in her own daughters’ lives that a history of foolish choices threatens to repeat itself? Julia knows she’s probably embarking on a fool’s errand—searching for the daughters she abandoned only now that she needs something from them. But love compels Julia to take this journey. Can grace and forgiveness compel her daughters to join her?

    In To Know You, Shannon Ethridge and Kathryn Mackel explore how the past creates the present . . . and how even the most shattered lives can be redeemed.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThomas Nelson
    Release dateOct 22, 2013
    ISBN9781401688684
    To Know You
    Author

    Shannon Ethridge

    Shannon Ethridge is a best-selling author, international speaker, and certified life coach with a master’s degree in counseling human relations from Liberty University. She has spoken to youth, college students, and adults since 1989, and is the author of 21 books, including the million-copy best-selling Every Woman’s Battle series.She is a frequent guest on TVand radio programs, such as The Today Show , The 700 Club , New Life Live! with Stephen Arterburn, and Life Today with James and Betty Robison. She also mentors aspiring writers and speakers through her BLAST Program (Building Leaders, Authors, Speakers and Teachers). Although grateful for the opportunities to influence this generation as a writer and speaker, Shannon remains most passionate about her role as a wife and best friend to her husband, Greg, and a mother to daughter, Erin, and son, Matthew. Learn more at www.ShannonEthridge.com.

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    • 5/5
      Talk about having to face your past. Poor Julia, you will be in tears for her. Twenty plus years ago she gave birth to a daughter, and gave her up for adoption. Then Julia ends up pregnant again, and again gives her daughter up for adoption.Fast forward and she is now happily married to Matt, has a thriving business, that uses her artistic talents, and has a sick, and possibly dying thirteen year old son. Dillon was born with a bad liver, and for one reason or not all of the family, and friends have been ruled out. He is now running out of time.Can you imagine going to one daughter, never mind two, with the same question of asking for blood type, and a piece of a liver. One we would hope never to have to do. She has to open the box of her heart and in return we hope she receives many blessings.Will Julia be able to save her gifted son? Will she be able to find a donor in time? In between all of this, she ends up traveling all over the US. Reuniting with her daughter's fathers, can't imagine!! Also, there is a bit of trouble, and danger thrown in.This is a heart wrenching story, a lot of love, and feeling of God's presence thrown in. Don't miss this one!I received this book through Litfuse Publicity Book Tours, and was not required to give a positive review.
    • 5/5
      To Know You by Shannon Ethridge & Kathryn Mackel was a good book to read. I really enjoyed reading this and I have to say I love how the book came full circle and I was in love with the ending to this book. I found that at times I would get pissed off at Julia by how she acted and other times I totally understood why she did the things that she did. There are so many ups and downs in this book that kept me going because I was always wondering what was going to happen next with the characters. Like I said before the book goes full circle and I loved that about it. I am so glad I got the chance to read this book.
    • 5/5
      I just finished reading To Know You....and my emotions went all over the board with this one, and now I feel wrung out. Phenomenal writing. Guilt. Forgiveness. Unconditional Love, That is what the book is about, in just a nutshell. Forgiving each other, oneself. Loving enough to be willing to be hurt. Following my dream even when it is different from what others think it should be. Understanding their protectiveness as love. What can I do that an all seeing, all knowing, forgiving God will not love me anymore? Is there anything too great for God, to deep? Does a mother's love expand and work across extreme incidents?Written with a deep love and understanding of relationships, the authors explore almost every type, from birth mother to adoptive mother, husband and wife to man and woman, siblings and non-siblings and almost siblings, health, sickness, death, the whole gamut. Written with talent and intense imagery, I felt I was walking along with Julie as she left her fourteen year old and flew across the country, almost forgetting the breath at some of the situations the characters found themselves in.I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group and Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review. A positive critique was not required. The opinions are my own.
    • 5/5
      A desperate mother goes to great lengths to help her dying son, even as the secrets she reveals bring into the light long buried griefs. Fraught with tension, To Know You by Shannon Ethridge and Kathryn Mackel is a moving and thought-provoking novel that is a must read.Julia’s son Dillon has been sick since infancy, but now the young teenager is facing the battle of his life and time is running out. Forced to appeal to the two daughters she gave up for adoption years ago, Julia’s desperate plea is complicated by the messy lives of her daughters and the truth about their fathers that they demand.There are so many issues tackled in To Know You. There are social issues such as organ donation and adoption and the ethics surrounding them. And then there are the spiritual issues of freedom, forgiveness and grace. With a whole lot to think about and discuss, To Know You is perfect for a book discussion group. It is also an incredibly good read — moving prose, wonderfully real characters and a tension that keeps readers turning pages as fast as they can. Alternating points of view allow the reader to get the whole story — full of emotions and spiritual longings and questions. My favorite phrase in the novel is shame off you - a great truth to remember. I cannot say it often enough — read this book!Highly Recommended.Great For Book Clubs.(Thanks to LitFuse and Thomas Nelson for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
    • 4/5
      4.5 stars.

      In To Know You by Shannon Ethridge & Kathryn Mackel, Julia Whittaker is forced to revisit her painful past in order to save her thirteen year old son Dillon's life.

      In an effort to give her daughters a better life, Julia gave both of her babies up for adoption. The adoptions were closed and she has had no contact with her daughters or their adoptive families. When their last hope for a donor for Dillon falls through, Julia reluctantly seeks out her now adult daughters to see if they are a match for the life-saving transplant Dillon so desperately needs. Her oldest daughter, Destiny, is brash, outspoken and at first, she flatly rejects Julia request. But her curiosity about her half-sister Chloe leads Destiny to make an outrageous proposal. If Julia will introduce her to Chloe, Destiny will consider getting tested to see if she is a match for Dillon's transplant. What follows is an unforgettable journey of hope, faith and healing for Julia, Destiny and Chloe.

      To Know You is full of surprises and interesting twists and turns and that includes Julia's past. The circumstances surrounding both of her pregnancies are very different and not at all what I was expecting. The relationships are revealed through flashbacks when Chloe and Destiny decide they want to meet their fathers. The two men are very different and their reactions to meeting their daughters reflect not only the unique circumstances of their previous relationships with Julia but their current lives as well.

      Chloe and Destiny could not be more different. Destiny is strong-willed and as a teenager, she was rebellious and headstrong. As an adult, she has forged her own path, successfully creating a lucrative career as a make-up artist. With the help of her longtime boyfriend, Luke, Destiny's wild partying days are a thing of the past but their relationship is currently on shaky ground.

      Chloe is the complete opposite of Destiny. She is married to her childhood sweetheart Jack and her life is well-ordered and predictable. Jack has their future mapped out and they both adhere to his strict schedule for their education and their professional life. Chloe is growing frustrated with both her marriage and career choice, but she is unable to voice her dissatisfaction to Jack. Julia and Destiny provide her the perfect excuse to escape her confining marriage for a brief period of time.

      Dillon's health is quite precarious and there is are tremendous sense of urgency throughout the entire novel. Julia's interactions with Destiny and Chloe are fraught with tension and she is always careful not to pressure them into a quick decision. Her worry for Dillon is tempered by her growing concerns for her daughters and the situations they are facing. She often turns to her husband, Matt, not only for support but for spiritual guidance as well. Their strong faith sustains them when their fears threaten to overwhelm them.

      While there is a strong element of faith in To Know You, it is never preachy. Instead, Shannon Ethridge & Kathryn Mackel gently demonstrate that God is there to help shoulder our burdens and that while His forgiveness is absolute, forgiving ourselves is often the most difficult obstacle to overcome.

    Book preview

    To Know You - Shannon Ethridge

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