Who Do I Lean On?

You can only walk forward when you learn how to lean.

Just months after her husband threw her out of their penthouse and sent their two sons away, Gabrielle Fairbanks is finally getting back on her feet. She has a job she loves at the homeless shelter, an apartment for her and the boys, caring friends, and even a new love interest. Best of all, an unexpected windfall has given her a brand-new dream--a House of Hope for homeless mothers and their children.

Piece by piece, Gabby's new life is coming together--but the old one keeps dragging her back. First her husband Philip hints at a reconciliation...then hits her up for a loan to pay his gambling debts. And when Gabby tells him no, he makes a desperate move that puts them all in harm's way. How can she even think of embarking on a new venture when so much is up in the air?

Gabby is realizing that she needs something far greater than her own strength or even that of her friends. That to move forward, she must first lean on the only One who knows what the future holds.

In the fast-paced third installment in Jackson’s House of Hope series, just as Gabby Fairbanks thinks she is finally getting her life in order, new challenges to her faith and her future arise. Her mother’s insurance payout will allow her a degree of financial security, and she is determined to go ahead with plans to purchase the building where she currently rents and make it available to Manna House residents, homeless women, for transitional shelter. But her husband, deep in debt from his gambling, seemingly wants her back, while Lee, her legal aid attorney, wants to escalate their friendship to the next level. Jackson uses the Chicago setting to good effect in building on previous titles from this and her Yada Yada Prayer Group series, offering an unblinkered Christian perspective on family, friendship, and personal obligations while allowing the reader to vicariously experience the remarkable range of experiences shared by those living in shelters, with not so much as a closet to call their own. --Lynne Welch