Just Beyond the Clouds by Karen Kingsbury
An unforgettable story of two brothers and the only woman whose love can set them both free.
Still aching over his wife's death, Cody Gunner can't bear the thought of also letting go of his Down Syndrome brother, Carl Joseph. Cody wants his brother home, where he will be safe and cared for, not out on his own in a world that Cody knows all too well can be heartless and insecure. So when Carl Joseph's teacher, Elle, begins championing his independence, she finds herself at odds with Cody. But even as these two battle it out, they can not deny the instinctive connection they share, and Cody faces a crisis of the heart.
My Review:
As always with Karen Kingsbury books, I enjoyed this one. Even though the ending was predicatble, I found the journey through the storyline to be a pleasant ride. Two of the main characters, Daisy and Carl Joseph, have Down Syndrome and seeing the world through their eyes reminded me of the joy that can come with childlike faith and confidence in God and in the human race. Cody, the brother of Carl Joseph, is lost in his grief over the death of his wife, and is unable to let go of her or to trust God again. But through the course of returning home, spending time with his brother, and getting to know Elle, the teacher at the learning center his brother attends, Cody's heart begins to see hope again for a future.
I read it in a day. I loved the imagry of the sun always being behind the clouds. It is a good image for us all to remember. When life is hard and "cloudy" we know it is only for a season and the sun will come out again. As my mom always says, "this too will pass." And the sun will shine again.
