Book Review: Leaning on Air by Cheryl Gray Bostrom

 

Leaning on Air - Cheryl Grey Bostrom 4.5 stars

What a roller-coaster of emotions packed into this book! This book follows Celia and Burnaby, who knew each other as teens and reconnected 12 years later and end up married. After a decade of marriage, they find themselves going through some of the toughest years of their marriage with many traumatic events. Celia is devastated with the after effects of everything she has endured and Burnaby is trying so hard to make their marriage work. We follow this couple on their journey to overcome tragedy together and we see how God is involved the entire time.

This was was such an impactful story - especially to me as an Autism Boy Mama. I specifically loved the introduction when Burnaby is explaining how God has been with him through his autism - when he is explaining what's helped him in his growth - the way it was explained means a lot to me because as an Autism Mama, we worry about our own children with the unknown of "will our children be able to make the decision to follow Christ?" Seeing Burnaby's story and faith in God gives me hope for my own son to be able to make that decision one day for himself. 

I love how Burnaby truly fought for his marriage with Celia. Calling over and over, trying to diagnose her in what she's going through, following her to the ends of the earth to make sure she is ok because he cares so much for her. He may not always be able to express it in the best way because he is autistic and he struggles with sensory issues in being touched, but he truly loves her. I also love how he talked to Celia about how the Lord loves their child and understands what it's like to lose one. It was beautiful and got me so emotional. Celia is skeptical of God throughout the story.

With Celia and Burnaby's jobs being very involved in science as an ornithologist (person who is an expert on birds) and a veterinary surgeon, you will see all kinds of nerdy details on physics but thankfully, the author explains everything along the way. It was very interesting to learn more about their professions. You also learn a lot about Washington State's Palouse - which is one of the most serene and pastoral farm areas of the state. It certainly made me research this area to see how beautiful it was for myself!

This story may have been filled with grief and trauma, but God was moving throughout this story and through Celia and Burnaby's marriage issues and reconciliation. I think the only thing that could have made this a perfect 5 stars was seeing a bit more faith development with Celia and a little more detail of how things played out in the end but I really enjoyed this!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to honestly read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Content Warnings: Detailed miscarriage, grief surrounding miscarriage, parental and other family member deaths, mental abuse from a parent, fade to black marital sex scene.

Book Buzzwords:
Christian Fiction

Married Couple
Grief Journey in a Marriage
Reconciliation in Marriage
Autism Representation 
Animals / Veterinarian Surgery/Details

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6127678753
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4aBDTId
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/557943

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