Walking on Broken Glass

Obsessed with brand names, social status, and, well, alcohol, Leah Thornton isn't your average Christian-fiction protagonist. She's shelved God as a subject for a later date and is slow to change, quick to fire sarcasm, even after her best friend calls her on her drinking and she checks herself into rehab. Yet her chilly shell protects layers of vulnerability that the author peels away gradually and believably.

I don't usually last all the way through women's fiction, but this is a worthwhile debut for sure. It almost earned four stars from me (a feat in itself for this genre) but not quite. Too many secondary characters (mainly the rehab staff) caused some of them to blur together, though others are quite well developed. Occasional verb show more tense oddness suggests this book was originally written in present tense then edited to past, but along the way some "being" verbs were overlooked. Also, Ms. Allan tends to write really-really-short and/or dangling scenes. Several times, a scene ends on a firecracker line of dialogue that ignites the conflict ... and then the narrative picks up hours later, with Leah telling someone who wasn't present about the rest of her evening. This may be a personal preference, but I really want to see action as it happens.

That said, in this quietly probing story of one woman's journey into the depths of herself, there's a lot of theme "meat" on which to ruminate. Leah's wounds and losses don't miraculously repair themselves in the final five pages. In fact, her healing has only started as her story ends, but she has found the path to a whole self and to God. I found myself caring about Leah, even about her husband Carl. Controlling and selfish as he is, he still seems potentially redeemable, simply never forced to grow up. I'm curious if Carl and Leah will rebuild their marriage-house on the Rock of Christ, or if Leah will have to find courage to leave.

If you've read enough "finding God means finding a perfect life!" fiction to last two lifetimes, give this book a try. It smashes Christian fiction's plot and character stereotypes, and it introduces an endearing protagonist with a well defined narrative voice. show less

I finally selected a new book to read- Walking On Broken Glass, by Christa Allen. Originally, I added the book to my samples pile in my Kindle because I adored the cover. I didn’t even know what the novel was about. I’m quirky like that sometimes.

I downloaded the ebook months ago after seeing it offered as an Amazon freebie, even though the subject matter isn’t one that I generally gravitate towards. You see, the crux of this novel is Alcoholism. More specifically, it’s the story of one woman’s recovery from her addiction. Because of that, I expected this novel to be sad, bleak and depressing. I was wrong.

Walking On Broken Glass is an uplifting tale of healing and taking control of one’s life. Of owning your own failures show more and learning from them. Of forgiveness and the relationships that mold our lives. The novel is compelling, honest and at times even humorous. Allen writes with clarity as she carefully peels away the scabs from the main character, Leah’s life. At the end of the book I sighed and let my mind wander, rehashing the book in my mind. A good book will do that to you; refuse to let you go even after the last page has been read. A five-star read for sure. show less

Superb debut novel! I liked the fact that the author tackled issues that are still too rarely found in "Christian" fiction and although the ending was disappointing, I enjoyed the journey.

Wonderful and emotionally honest, I found myself riveted to the pages of this book. This story is as real as CBA fiction can get and I loved that about this story. The spiritual thread is there but not overwhelming. And the thought life of the main character was deep point of view. I lived in her head. Very well done.

I give this author a big thumbs up for writing a story that wasn't a pleasant experience for everyone involved, but yet made you feel and understand the characters going through this ordeal.

Leah Thornton is a 27 middle-stage alcoholic. Her drinking got worse after she lost their baby girl Alyssa, so her good friend Molly talks Leah in to rehab. As Leah said, "I wanted to hate her. But how could I hate a friend who loved me enough to save my life?" When Leah tells her husband Carl she is checking into Brookforest Rehab Center he doesn't exactly get on board with what she is doing; I think he was in denial that she had a problem. But that isn't surprising because the more you read the more you realize that this couple has a lot of issues show more they need to deal with.

When Leah enters Rehab. you get a real feel for what goes on in the mind of the person there and the kind of treatment and people there also. As Leah said again, she was "well enough to know I'm sick, but sick enough to think I'm well". She has a hard edge to her and you can feel her emotions throughout this story. She shares things with you and you feel for her and want to see her get better. I had a hard time liking Carl. Sometimes I thought I understood him and then he would do something or say something stupid and then I had to try to like him all over again.

This wasn't a happy ever after ending. But it did leave you with the hope that these two people would change, learn to love each other all over again and work together to make their marriage work. There is a lot of struggles going on in this story and at times it was hard to keep going, but I am glad I did see it to the end. A well done debut by Christa Allan! show less

Better than I expected it to be; the writer seems to have a pretty good grasp on the upper-middle-class Southern urban experience. Or so it seemed to this outsider, anyway. Not sure the Christian aspect worked for me - really, the recovery process and the AA meetings gave enough emphasis to it, and the additional few lines about shopping for a church and going to a Christian marriage counselor just didn't need to be there, and felt like they were added to make the story sell to the publisher. (And that's a massive run-on sentence.)

Not sure the main character ever really dealt with her problems in rehab - her feelings over her loss, especially. It was refreshing, though, to see several Christian characters tell her that she didn't have show more to remain in her marriage just to please God. And since her husband was such a SOB (really, his parents were no better), I can't imagine them winding up together.

Overall, though, it was an easy-reading novel and held my attention, mostly because I wondered what else could happen to the poor woman. show less

I really enjoyed this book. As the child of a recovering alcoholic, I could relate to the feelings Leah's loved ones were dealing with as she was entering her life of sobriety. It was also eye opening for me to "see" alcoholism from the alcoholic's point of view. I fell in love with Leah instantly and cheered for her from beginning to end. This story was well written and the characters were well developed. Only thing I'd change? The ending. Read it and I'll bet you'll agree.