A Step of Faith

I feel like the author hit upon an idea that worked and is continuing it in various ways as long as he can (since this journey feels very similar to "The Broken Road" series he wrote). I haven't read any of the previous books in this series. I got this one from the library as an audiobook to listen to while I drove. I figured it wasn't the first in the series if he was walking cross country and the book started with him in St. Louis.

I liked "The Broken Road" a bit more since it dealt with Route 66--an icon even I've heard about. There were pieces of this one that I liked but there wasn't as much about what was on the road that he saw as it was about his inner journey.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD:
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The book starts out with Alan show more interrupting his walk due to finding out he has a brain tumor. He returns to Pasadena with his father and has surgery on what turns out to be a benign tumor.

After a brief period of healing, Alan flies back to St. Louis and resumes his walk, against the wishes of his father. Alan makes it to Florida before learning that his father has suffered a heart attack and having to fly back to Pasadena.

The book is somewhat about loss. Not only that Alan has lost his wife and his business, but he's also losing relationships. Falene's in love with him but leaves because she thinks he'll never love her and that he's in love with Nicole. Nicole leaves when she realizes he loves Falene more than he loves her. Alan's father withdraws when he realizes Alan plans to resume his walk.

I'm not sure I like Evans's views on religion/faith based on what's presented in this novel. Alan's dad seems to have a decent grasp of (Christian?) faith as does the pastor who gives Alan a bed for the night. The cult leader (El?) has an odd view of faith. I do know that El is used to refer to God--so it was telling that he used that name as well as having all his followers have a name that ended with -el. Alan also encounters a prepper in the Okefenokee Swamp--a prepper who seems to have driven his wife away with his views and isolated fortress etc.

Just as Alan realizes he does want others to be with him at the end of his walk, and just as he gets a way to contact Falene to tell her he loves her, his walk gets interrupted again by the news that his father is in intensive care back in Pasadena--so we know there's a least one more book in this series. show less

A Step of Faith is the fourth in The Walk series that began in 2010. It is preceded by The Walk (2010), Miles to Go (2011), and The Road to Grace (2012). While it is not strictly necessary to have read the first three in order to understand and enjoy A Step of Faith, I would strongly recommend it. The premise of The Walk series is that Alan Christoffersen, living in Seattle, had it all: his own advertising business, a lovely home, and a beautiful, loving wife, McKale who also happens to have been his childhood sweetheart. Until one day when McKale has an accident while riding her horse and subsequently dies, Alan’s business partner, Kyle Craig (interesting for James Patterson fans that this is also the name of Alex Cross’ former show more partner (boss) turned evil nemesis) steals the agency’s customers, the business is defunct, and with no money, Alan loses his cars and house. After considering and rejecting suicide, Alan decides that with nothing left to tie him to Seattle he just wants to get as far away as possible. He decides to walk from Seattle to the furthest point in the continental United States, Key West, Florida. On his journey, Alan encounters many people, some good, others not so much; some will reappear in his life, others will just become as ships passing in the night. He also runs into obstacles and has his setbacks, such as being mugged and stabbed, but he meets these obstacles with resolve and determination, for it is more about the journey itself that the actual destination.

When we last saw Alan at the end of The Road to Grace, Alan awoke in the hospital in St. Louis after experiencing dizziness and headaches and finally losing consciousness alongside the road. Falene, his former employee and friend, is with him and informs him that he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Will Alan resume his walk? The answer lies in A Step of Faith and I don’t think it would be considered a spoiler for me to tell you that Alan does indeed continue on his journey, meeting new people and experiencing some things he never even dreamed of. And as before, the journey is Alan’s opportunity for soul-searching, listening to his heart, figuring out how he can move on.

I have read each book in this series within a week of publication and have enjoyed each immensely. A Step of Faith is certainly no exception, provable by the fact that I devoured it in one day. However this one left me feeling a little bit sad, probably because about the time that Alan finally realizes that he needs people in his life and that he needs to open his heart to love again, those people begin leaving his life. It seems rather a lesson in the old saying that you should never take for granted the ones you love, as you never know when you may lose them. That said, I still enjoyed the book and will be eagerly awaiting the next one (yes, there IS going to be a fifth book in the series, scheduled for May 2014). One problem that is unavoidable is that since the books in the series have been published approximately one year apart, it is easy to forget people and events, or at least the details. I usually re-read the last chapter or two in the previous book before starting a new one, just to refresh my memory. I think I might re-read the first four books shortly before the arrival of the fifth, so that there will be a natural flow that seems lacking when read a year apart. Richard Paul Evans is always easy to read, and never disappoints. I highly recommend this book to all, young and old alike. show less

This fourth volume of The Walk series focuses less on the walk itself and more on several side journeys that read like parables and reveal some basic truths about human nature. Every chapter starts out with an inspirational quote and there are plenty more tucked into the storyline itself. As with the previous books this is clearly a faith based work but the life lessons encountered along the way are relevant outside of that context. The book ends almost midstride with Alan close to his goal and faced with his most challenging hurdle yet. The epilogue is a huge hook for the next (and last) installment but, myself, I prefer a book to have some sense of conclusion even if it is part of a series.

I received this book for free through the show more Goodreads First Reads program. show less

A great work of literature....maybe not. But I just can't put the books in this series down. Not only do I want to follow Alan along his journey and find out what happens to him, but I also want to meet everyone he meets and see all the places he sees. I continue to thoroughly enjoy taking this Walk with Alan and I look forward to the next installment.

Alan Christoffersen began his walk from Seattle to Key West almost one year ago. Devastated by the death of his wife, the betrayal of his business partner, the loss of his business and his home he was contemplating suicide, but decided to walk instead. After collapsing at the side of the road at the “almost halfway point” of his walk, Alan discovers his recent bouts with vertigo are being caused by a brain tumor. Having to deal with yet another hospital stay, Alan decides to have the procedure done in California, staying with his father (in his childhood home) to recuperate. Counting his blessings that the tumor was benign and although not quickly as he wishes, he does resume his walk. As can only be expected when one is walking show more cross-country he meets up with some interesting people.

This series is a wonderful series to read. Nothing blows up, no shades of grey, no bad language … just a beautifully written book about a man and his wanderings across the USA.

Mr. Evans includes quotes from “the diary of Alan Christoffersen” at the beginning of each chapter. These quotes are so insightful that it makes me feel like I should write them down so I can have them at my fingertips for the right occasion. If Mr. Evans was not a successful novelist, he could certainly have made a career for himself writing heartfelt greeting cards. (Wow – that last line sounds a little negative, but was meant completely as compliment!) show less

"A Step of Faith," book three of Richard Paul Evans' "The Walk" series, is good, but I think Evans needs to get to the last book very soon -- this book was getting a little drawn out. Alan has to deal with his brain tumor in a Los Angeles. Although he has his dad and very good friends to support him, Alan begins to alienate the people that care for him. He questions everything and everybody in his life. When he begins to walk again, Alan thinks he may have lost the person who loves him most in life. Alan spends his days on the road angry and missing his estranged wife more than ever. Will the people he meets along the way change his life? The only thing we know is he gets a telephone call that will change things forever.

Debbie F. /

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This book is the fourth in "The Walk" series. Each book adds to the story of Alan Christofferson and this one is extremely enjoyable and inspirational. After Alan is diagnosed with a brain tumor, he flies home to have surgery. Falene and Nicole both show up to help Alan through his surgery, but Falene leaves when she feels she is in the way. Nicole leaves when Alan calls out for Falene while in recovery. Alan recuperates with his father and heads back to St. Louis to continue his walk. He encounters some very strange characters in this episode (a survivalist, a cult leader and some members) as well as some very friendly and helpful people. Alan decides to look for Falene and see if she wants to start a relationship. Another great story show more and I can't wait to read the next one in the series. show less