From Mourning into Gladness

A Biblically-based historical novel about an ordinary woman whose life is touched by the life of Jesus and the aftermath of both His birth and His death. Join her in her happiness, anguish, recovery and ultimate freedom from the trauma of the past into a life of hope. Life is good for Rachel and her family in Bethlehem. Then Rome decrees a census and the events that follow change her life forever. She welcomes Mary, Joseph and their newborn babe as neighbors, but one night they disappear and then Herod's soldiers murder both of her sons. Rachel's mother suggests that they move to Bethany to recover. Years later, blessed with a new family, Rachel again finds herself touched by Jesus when her neighbor, Lazarus, is raised from the dead. The family goes to Jerusalem for Passover and she finds herself in a mystery. Finally, her search for the answer to the questions she has pondered thirty years is found and she is able to rejoice.