A Violent Hope follows the life of Mack Reynolds, a young married man who is plagued by the abuse he suffered at the hands of his uncle and the catastrophic decision he makes, sealing his fate. The story unfolds through the lives of the three women who love Mack, and it's not until his mother, Rochelle, learns to confront her own demons that she can lovingly lead her granddaughter and daughter-in-law back to the land of the living.
Mack Reynolds is battling his demons. After years spent attempting to heal wounds from being abused as a child, he confronts the author of his nightmares-his uncle-leading to a catastrophic decision and permanently sealing his fate.
When Natalie, Mack's wife, convinces herself that she won't be able to support her family on her own, she moves herself and her daughter to White Smoke, Arkansas where she has a new job lined out and the hope of a new beginning. But after being demoted in a mere six months, meeting a less than reputable "best friend," and chasing the same addiction that helped fuel her husband's final breakdown, Natalie ends up spiraling out of control and comes out worse the wear ten years later.
All grown up, her daughter, Wren, struggles with her own addiction and a never ending series of tough situations she blames on her father's early demise. It's not until Mack's mother, Rochelle, can confront her past, her questionable living arrangement with her husband and his mistress, and the bitter hurt that's metastasized inside of her that Natalie and Wren can receive the guidance they both desperately need. But is it too late?
Told through the lives of the three women touched by Mack's struggle, A Violent Hope takes a deeper look into the human heart and the God who repeatedly heals all wounds.
Excerpt
Roy McGruffin sits high on a wooden shelf above Mack’s window. His room faces out to the street. Mack plants his face against it, watches kids from his class, from his school playing out in the middle of it. He doesn’t bother with them because they don’t understand him. But there is one kid who got kicked out of ninth grade and goes to the school across town now. His name is Leonard, and Leonard is so alone on the inside that he laughs extra loud and makes people think he’s funny. Mack doesn’t see the appeal, but he does see the appeal in what Leonard brings him.
Leonard is on the sidewalk and looks like a sharp shard of glass in the sea of children. Everyone instinctually gives him breathing room.
Mack nods at him which is Leonard’s signal to come in. They’re the same size, Leonard and Mack, even though Leonard is three years older. His mother drank during the pregnancy and barely ate. Her head is a demonic cloud of mis-thoughts so that when she looks in the mirror, all she can see is her own ugliness. When she looks at Leonard, she doesn’t see much better.
“Creeper here?” Leonard asks, nodding at Dennis’s bedroom.
“Nah.” Mack shuts the black curtains he asked Rochelle to buy to help him sleep. His room is shaded in dark except for a slit of light that slices the wood floor. Leonard takes the bean bag chair in the corner. He takes out his tin with the papers and lighter and a baggie full of weed out of his jeans pocket. He rolls a joint and lights it.
“Your turn,” he barely eeks out as he passes it to Mack. He thinks he must seem like a god in Mack’s eyes, but Mack only feels deeply sorry for him.
When Mack breathes in the dirty air, his muscles relax. His brain is insignificant, and he can’t feel his heartbeat. He’s belly down on his bed, and he tries to ignore Roy McGruffin glaring down at him.
They smoke for a little while longer, listening to Free Bird on his Fisher Price record player. He should be embarrassed about that, about Roy who hovers above them, but Mack doesn’t feel anything. It’s why he lets Leonard dance with him.
They dance slow, and he knows Leonard will try to kiss him. He sees the scene in his head because they’ve played it over and over every Saturday evening, when dusk is still outside his curtain and his uncle’s at work, his mother’s at Glenn’s place, spending the night. He should say no. He should say and do a lot of things.
But Mack is only human. Something he tries so hard to forget.
Professional Reviews
Couldn't put it down!
I am SO GLAD I gave Ericka Clay’s newest novel, A Violent Hope, a chance because if I would have prejudged it [in comparison to other Christian fiction I’ve read in the past] I would have missed out on an excellent opportunity to grow in my faith and relationship with Christ. Ericka Clay is the real deal and a girl after my own heart – she doesn’t use any b.s. in her story-telling and her characters are so transparent that you will see your own self stripped down within them.
A Violent Hope is told through the lives of three women impacted by one man’s struggle. It beautifully weaves together the internal battle of good versus evil with the gentle nudges and quiet whispers of the intuitive voice that lives inside everyone. A Violent Hope examines the depths of the human heart and the God who can redeem what is broken and restore it into a new creation.
If time would have allowed, I would have pulled an all-nighter reading this book. As it was, it took me a few days to complete but each time I had to stop reading I felt myself grumble inside because I just had to know what was going to happen next. I particularly loved the different perspectives and personalities of the three women along with the narrator’s voice. I won’t give any spoilers, but the narration throughout is what stuck with me. It led me to view my own life (thoughts, feelings, behaviors) in relation to how God sees me. That element alone made this novel more spiritually insightful than most Christian non-fiction books I’ve read.
Compelling Story
A Violent Hope is very much unlike my usual choice of books. In fact, I can't say that I "liked" the story. It is too full of hurt and despair to be "likable."
But I don't know when, or if, I've ever read anything much more compelling. After I downloaded the book onto my Kindle, I checked out the first few pages to be sure it came through OK. I started reading, and by the time I got to the second or third page, I was drawn in so strongly that I couldn't put it down. I ended up reading the entire book in one afternoon.
The story is full of the raw messiness of life, including time after time when bad choices are made that negatively impact the individuals involved and others close to them. But what kept tugging at me as a reader was the thread of Hope -- at times almost hidden, but still there -- that kept showing up in the lives of the characters.
A Violent Hope is a well-written story that provides an awesome reminder that Christ doesn't give up or stop drawing hearts to Himself, even hearts tangled up in ugliness. While there is nothing I would consider overly graphic or inappropriate in the way the author portrays events in the story, I would recommend this book for mature readers.
Thanks to the author, Ericka Clay, for providing a digital copy of her book. All thoughts in this review are my own.
Brave, Insightful, Gripping.
Dark. Gritty. Raw. Author Ericka Clay meets pain head on, and, with a deft hand, skillfully leads readers into the broken hearts of those living in the grimmest of circumstances.
Not the sort of book I’d usually read, much less write a five-star review for.
But from the first page of A Violent Hope, I cared about her complex, nimbly illustrated characters, and I wanted to see them through.
With authenticity and beautiful mastery of language, Ericka intersects her characters’ difficult lives with the God who loves each of them. In a style and subtlety you’ll find only in the best of fiction (either Christian or mainstream) the author shows the patience of God as He nudges and directs and defers to individuals’ free will. Ericka not only portrays dimensional human beings, but she also gives us a glimpse of the character of God.
This book fills an important niche in Christian fiction. As a statement from her imprint Believable Books explains, this book “follows gritty characters from their rock bottoms all the way to their God-glorifying tops. Believable Books seeks to bring light to a dark literary world, with grace, hope and the redemptive love of Christ always at the core.”
I look forward to future work from this talented author.
A page-turning novel about a relationship between best friends that is interrupted because of betrayal , deceit, sexual promiscuity and pregnancy happens!
