The most treacherous terrain is found within.
Ten years ago, sisters Olivia and Melanie Greene were on a hiking trip when their parents were in a fatal car accident. They haven't seen each other since the funeral. Olivia coped with the loss by plunging herself into law school, work, and a materialist view of the world--what you see is what you get, and that's all you get. Melanie dropped out of college and developed an online life coaching business around her DIY spirituality--a little of this, a little of that, whatever makes you happy.
Now, at Melanie's insistence (and against Olivia's better judgment), they are embarking on a hike in the Porcupine Mountains of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. In this remote wilderness they'll face their deepest fears, question their most dearly held beliefs, and begin to see that perhaps the best way to move forward is the one way they had never considered.
My Thoughts:
I thoroughly enjoyed reading All That We Carried by Erin Bartels. Between the beautiful imagery, flowing prose, and character development, the novel held my attention from beginning to end.
This story of two sisters wrestling with themselves and each other held plenty of emotional and relational drama. As the sisters struggle to relate to each another, both women undergo deep character development. Their mutually painful pasts and candid arguing prod them both to grapple individually with their own spirituality. Their spiritual issues, questions, and doubts are on full display throughout the novel. I liked that both characters asked hard, lingering questions. I’d say this is the most “Christian” of Erin Bartels’ books, but neither of the main characters are Christian, so perhaps I should describe it as an honest, candid story full of spiritual searching.
I recommend All That We Carried by Erin Bartels to readers who enjoy novels with deep character development, honest spiritual struggles, and intense examining of relationships. This novel falls solidly into the women’s fiction category. Five stars!
Read an excerpt from All That We Carried on the publisher's website.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the author or publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.
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