About the Book:
Martha of Bethany is no stranger to adversity. After her mother’s untimely death, Martha shoulders the responsibility of raising her siblings–quiet and studious Lazarus, and wild and rambunctious Mary. She finds solace in friendship and the beginnings of first love, but just as Martha begins to imagine a new future, hardship strikes again and her dreams crumble into dust.
Ten years later, Martha’s friend pleads for the new teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, to come and heal her husband. When Martha discovers that the carpenter-rabbi is connected to her past, she’s not sure she can trust him with her future. But as he continues to perform miracles, the invitation to believe becomes harder to resist, renewing Martha’s hardened heart, even as she faces an unknown future.
My Thoughts:
In Up from Dust: Martha’s Story, Heather Kaufman brought to life Martha of Bethany. In years past, the Biblical account of Martha tended to be told with a negative slant (“Be more like Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus instead of Martha who served resentfully”). More recently, church culture has backed off giving this woman such a bad rap, but some stigma regarding the well-known scene remains. In this fictionalized account, Kaufman infused the famous moment with such beautiful love and invitation that I wanted to cheer for Martha and for the positive representation.
Written in first person point-of-view, Up from Dust draws the reader straight into Martha’s mind and heart. From childhood through adulthood, the most intimate details and feelings were shared as the narrative dove deep into her traumas, experiences, and hopes. This intense investment made for an emotionally moving story, and I cried a bit for all the hardship Martha faced. Loss, grief, and brokenness permeated much of her life and family, yet Martha found hope in Jesus, the Christ.
Up from Dust: Martha’s Story by Heather Kaufman held
a lot of sadness, but beautiful spiritual truths balanced the pain. Smooth
writing and a flowing plot strengthened the book while the love triangle made me
cringe slightly. This novel commences Kaufman’s Women of the Way series. Four
stars!
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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