Despite suffering from the loss of her mother when she was
fourteen and a father who is distant in his emotions,
Sophie feels her life is almost charmed. She has a
handsome husband she loves dearly and who makes good money
in his career, a lovely daughter named Megan, and, despite
being busy, she successful with being a stay at home mom.
But, like a fast moving thunderstorm, life changes in a
flash. Her lively little three and a half year old Megan
increasingly becomes more lethargic and then has more
serious symptoms. As Sophie struggles to keep everything
positive for Megan as the wee child battles
leukemia, Michael, Sophie's husband becomes increasingly
distant. Can Sophie's emotions and heart keep up with
all that is happening? Can she cope with the heartbreaking
events?
Writing under the name of E.V. Mitchell as contemporary
fiction is a new genre for her; well known historical
romance writer Julianne MacLean has crafted a very
compelling and poignant story of childhood loss, grief, and
self-discovery from a "near death experience" by the
interweaving of Sophie's story and that of Cora, her
mother. Drawing on elements of her own experiences and
extensive research, the author 's writing is so authentic
and eloquent in expression, especially in describing
emotional situations , that The COLOR OF HEAVEN reads as
if it were a true story. Written in the first person, the
story unfolds in such an intimate and emotive telling and
with such realistic characters, it is almost impossible to
put this heartbreaking and heartwarming story down!
Sophie Duncan is a successful columnist whose world falls
apart after her daughter's unexpected illness and her
husband's shocking affair. When it seems nothing else could
possibly go wrong, her car skids off an icy road and plunges
into a frozen lake. There, in the cold dark depths of the
water, Sophie experiences something profound and
extraordinary - something that unlocks the secrets from her
past, and teaches her what it means to truly live.
Excerpt
Not long after I crossed the border into New
Hampshire, the temperature plummeted. If I had been out
walking, I would have felt it on my cheeks. The chill would
have entered my throat and lungs, but I was strapped
tightly into the cozy confines of my vehicle with the heat
blasting out of the dashboard vents, and was therefore
shielded from the conditions outside.
I will always wonder what brought that deer out onto the
road just as the puddles from the melting snow turned to
ice. I saw her out of the corner of my eye, galloping onto
the pavement, and my whole body went rigid.
Wrenching the steering wheel left to avoid her, I hit
the brakes at the same time, which was, of course, the
worst thing I could have done.
The car whipped around 180 degrees, so I was now
facing the oncoming headlights from the vehicles traveling
behind me. My tires skimmed sideways across the pavement
toward the shoulder of the road.
I remember everything in excruciating detail, the
noise especially, as my car rolled five times down the
steep embankment. Glass shattered and smashed. Steel
collapsed. The world spun in dizzying circles in front of
my eyes, so I shut them and gripped the steering wheel
hard, bracing my body against the jarring impact as the
roof collapsed over the passenger side and the windows blew
out.
Down I went, tumbling and bouncing over the rocks
like a stone skipping across water.
Then all at once, it was over.
There was only white noise in my ears, and the
thunderous sound of my heartbeat.
I opened my eyes to find myself hanging upside down
in my seatbelt, with the side of my head wedged up against
the roof.
The engine was still running. Other sounds emerged.
Music blasted from the radio – an old favorite song of mine
from the 80’s, The Killing Time, which was ironic, but in
that heart-stopping moment, I was not that reflective. All
I could think of was getting out of there.
Panic hit me. Hard. I felt trapped, frantic to
escape, and began to thrash about.
I groped for the red button on the seatbelt buckle,
but my hands were shaking so badly, I couldn’t push it.
My breaths came faster and faster.
I cried out, but no one heard.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a whip cracked. The
vehicle shuddered.
I froze and tried to see past the smashed windshield
in front of me. Everything outside the car was pure white,
covered in snow.
If only I knew where I was. If only I could see
something beyond the broken glass.
But it didn’t matter what I could, or could not,
see. I knew what was happening...
My car was sitting on its roof, resting on a frozen
lake. The crack of the whip was the sound of the ice
breaking.
Creak… Groan…
My SUV shifted and began to slowly tip sideways...
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