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Five-time, award winning author Kerriann Flanagan Brosky, has been featured in a number of publications including The New York Times, Newsday and Distinction magazine. She has appeared on CBS' Sunday Morning Show, "Ticket" with Laura Savini, News 12 Long Island, and The Thinking Writer in East Hampton, for her previously published non-fiction books. Kerriann hosts a weekly Internet radio show on Blogtalk Radio, "The Kerriann & Joe Show - Spirit Connection," and she blogs for Patch.com. Kerriann is the President of the Long Island Authors Group, and is a well-known speaker who draws standing-room-only crowds to her lectures. Kerriann lives in Huntington, Long Island, and when she's not writing she enjoys spending time at the beach with her husband Karl and their two sons. The Medal is her debut novel.
Visit her websites at www.kerriannflanaganbrosky.com and www.padrepiomedal.com
Reviewed by Brenda Casto for Readers' Favorite
When Bethany was a junior in high school her forty-eight year old father John was diagnosed with MS. Her mother Victoria became the caretaker for him, but when her mother was killed in a head on collision during Bethany's final year in culinary school her world was turned upside down. She gave up a dream job, putting her life on hold to take care of her father. While she was able to open a successful bakery not far from home she couldn't help but often feel resentful toward her brother Steven as well as the situation in general making her lose her faith in God, but then a stranger named Jimmy shows up and starts talking to her about miracles, faith and Padre Pio. Will she find her faith again?
"The Medal" so accurately portrays the feelings that family members often feel when faced with caring for a loved one. It was so easy to see that Bethany loved her father, and was willing to do whatever it took to make his life comfortable. While we see this we also see Bethany as someone who is stressed and unsure of whether life is passing her by. I could easily understand her feelings of resentment toward her brother, and really enjoyed the way the author allowed us to see Steven's side. I thought that Rob played a pivotal role in helping to take care of John. There is also another side to this story: it is how someone named Jimmy tries to help Bethany find her faith again. It was so easy to envision Jimmy, as a husky Italian who loved eating canolis. Even though the main characters in this story are Catholic, a faith I know very little about, I was still able to easily connect with the faith-based messages woven into the story. I thought the author's notes at the end of the story explaining who Padre Pio was, really contributed to the story.
Overall, a story about finding faith when all faith is gone, and how there is a higher power if only we believe. The author's descriptions of faith were amazing, and allowed me to learn quite a bit about Catholic Faith. A story that is very easy to connect with whether you are Catholic or not, because many of us are dealing with taking care of loved ones and struggling with faith.
