Book Review

Ahhh! This is usually what I'm saying when I reading or when I've finished a Karen Kingsbury book. She's a great Christian author and is being called America's #1 inspirational novelist. I highly recommend her books, they are really worth your time. Several of her books hit #1 on the bestseller lists and one of them was even made into a movie.After reading one of her many titles (Divine) for the first time I was hooked.
This book is called Just Beyond The Clouds and it's about Cody Gunner who we met previously in another book called A Thousand Tomorrows. Here is the author's summary of the book: 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't deny the instintictive connection they share, and Cody faces a crisis of the heart. What if Elle is the one woman who can teach Cody that love is still possible? If Cody can let go of his lingering anger, he might see that sometimes the brightest hope of all lies Just Beyond The Clouds.
This book was very inspiring but most of all it was about simplicity. The book's message was very clear. Life was about choices but the most important choice of all is to live. The author clearly showed how important it is for us to realize that life really is about living. We are not promised tomorrow but just because we might have a near to impossible feat does not mean that we must stop living and wait until death takes us. In this story, Carl Joseph has Down Syndrome but it's his life-long goal to just simply be a man. He wants to be able to do things for himself. He wants to cook, take the bus, dance, go to church and give his 10% tithes and even go to Disneyland one day. Also, he wants to do many things that "normal" people would do. Yes one might say that Carl Joseph has many limitations but in this book, the author shows us how he refused to let all his problems get in his way of happiness. He has a heart problem, he has occasional seizures and prone for a Stroke and still Carl Joseph yearns his independence. His family wants him to stay home where he can be safe but deep in their hearts they know that they are holding him back from his potentials. In the end they can't help but realize that maybe they were the ones that were "handicapped" after all because Carl Joseph will teach them all lessons about love and just choosing to live.
It's a great story that will touch your heart, make you cry and laugh all at once. One of the most significant message in the story is about Cody Gunner and how he's angry and aching over his dead wife. She had Cystic Fibrosis and although he gave her a lung to buy some more time with her she died and he still carries her in his heart. he's come home and he's desperately trying to get his brother (Carl Joseph) away from the Independent Life Center. Only the more he fights against it the more he realizes how great it is for his brother. In a surprising twist of fate, he also meets the one girl that will capture his heart and break apart all the anger he had built up. She will also lead him to God and to also finally see that he must let go of his dead wife. He will fall in love with Elle, Carl Joseph's teacher and together they will both find a great love and find out also that the most important thing of all is to just keep living even through the bad stuff. Joy will come in the morning.
Another significant part of the story is about a Down Syndrome girl (Carl Joseph's best friend) Daisy who is afraid of the rain because she thinks that she will melt like the Wicked Witch of the West in Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. Carl Joseph comforts her when it's raining and tells her that not only will she not melt but that whenever it's raining to remember that there is sunshine just beyond the clouds. This is the most powerful message of all because it reminds us that no matter how we view things ( no matter how bleak they look) that things will get better. It's just like rainbows and how when we see them we can remember God's promise that He will never destroy the earth again with rain like He did in Noah's days. In the end, we will see that Carl Joseph is right about sunshine being just beyond the clouds because everyone finds their own happiness and finally realize that the rain does not last forever.