Karen Hulene Bartell

An interesting offering from Karen Hulene Bartell. I was very hesitant to read this book. It sat in my review request folder for many weeks before I finally made the decision to read it. Why? Because as a person of faith, I was afraid of what a book like this could contain. Would it be anti-God? Pro-choice? Church bashing? You get the picture here. I finally decided that I would read it. I am extremely glad that I did.

While the book flowed extremely well and made for an easy read, there were parts of the story that were difficult to read due to the subject matter. Deep, thought provoking, and complex were the range of emotions I experienced reading this book and were nothing short of a brilliant accomplishment on the part of Ms. Bartwell. I will be a big girl here and admit, there was more than one ugly cry. There were many story lines to follow throughout, however, each facet of the story came together like an intricately woven textile, I can see the potential for more stories from the different characters. I love the character Sister Pastora, I believe that she embodies the indomitable spirit of every Sister that I know.I look forward to learning more of their stories, especially hers and Judith/Faith’s.

Speaking of characters, well written characters, great depth, the 3 female leads were very different from each other, but found their way to work together toward a common goal. This was a story of their very different lives and how they intersect through choices, experiences, and influences. It was also a moving tribute to finding lost faith, finding yourself, discovering that you are not alone in the universe, but most importantly, the message that I found most profound, was the message of the power of love and forgiveness.

Ok, now for the nitty gritty, there were some details of Catholicism that weren’t exactly correct, I think I understand the reasoning for the liberties, mostly with divorce and annulment. All in all, I don’t think it detracts from the story, in fact, it creates more confusion for the characters. It illustrates what Jarek was trying to put over on Ceren more effectively for the confusion that it does cause. Overall, I am giving Sacred Choices 5 stars, without hesitation. I think the story was executed extremely well, and I would not hesitate to recommend this book. There is so much more that I want to say about this book, but I think it would be better for you to pick it up and discover it for yourself, it’s a personal journey. I look forward to more stories from the author!

I was gifted a copy for an honest review.… (more)