Sabrina Rice's hope of becoming an Olympic runner and a
missionary got sidetracked when she was diagnosed with a
debilitating disease. Three years later she is finishing her
degree in Public Relations and hoping for an internship at a
prestigious PR firm in Atlanta. She's a disciplined, no-
nonsense young lady with a plan for her life. She can't
believe she missed God's call the first time, thinking her
path in life would include a gold medal and fame that people
would acknowledge. Her grandmother invites a friend and her
granddaughter for dinner one evening and Sabrina's life
takes another turn.
Brandy Philip is fast becoming a
juvenile delinquent and Sabrina is asked to help turn
Brandy's life around. Brandy is a runner, just like Sabrina
used to be, and both grandmothers think Sabrina is just the
person to help. Conflict, arguments and hangovers abound in
their relationship during Sabrina's training sessions with
Brandy. Sabrina questions why she agreed to this
arrangement. Will Brandy get her life straightened out? Will
Sabrina find her true calling or follow her own life plan?
Kathryn Cushman has written a dynamic inspirational novel
about having hope and finding strength to go on when that
hope is dashed. It's a story of learning the reality that
nothing good is gained by crying over what you cannot have.
You have to continue to move forward with your life, because
God always has a plan. Sabrina draws inspiration from the
children of Israel and their journey through the desert. She
is traveling through her own desert, trying to find her own
promised land. She learns that what she thought you wanted
may not be the right path for her.
Cushman's two main
characters are intense and driven. The secondary characters
give the story a lift and add some much needed variety and
support to both Sabrina's and Brandy's lives. Having a plan
for your life is good, but sometimes we get upset when the
journey looks a little different from our plan. A little
romance adds some spice to the story line and keeps the
reader engaged. You'll laugh, cry and cheer with these
characters as you read CHASING HOPE. This one's a keeper!
A Personal Drama of Shattered Dreams and Second Chances
A talented runner fully committed to Olympic dreams, Sabrina
Rice's future was shattered by a devastating diagnosis. One
forfeited scholarship and several years later, she has new
goals and dreams that have nothing to do with
running--something that's become far too painful to think on.
Until the day she sees Brandy Philip running across the
community college campus, easily outpacing security. Sabrina
immediately recognizes world-class speed, and it's all the
more painful that it belongs to a teenage graffiti artist.
When a chance encounter brings the two young women together,
Sabrina becomes Brandy's best hope for staying out of
juvenile hall. Soon, Sabrina begins to feel an uncomfortable
nudge that her new life is just about to be toppled...that
God may be calling her to minister to this talented but
troubled girl.