Long before anyone would christen it “The Dust Bowl,” Nola Merrill senses the destruction. She’s been drying up bit by bit since the day her mother died, leaving her to be raised by a father who withholds his affection the way God keeps a grip on the Oklahoma rain. A hasty marriage to Russ, a young preacher, didn’t bring the escape she desired. Now, twelve years later with two children to raise, new seeds of dissatisfaction take root.
When Jim, a mysterious drifter and long-lost friend from her husband’s past, takes refuge in their home, Nola slowly springs to life under his attentions until a single, reckless encounter brings her to commit the ultimate betrayal of her marriage. For months Nola withers in the wake of the sin she so desperately tries to bury. Guilt and shame consume her physically and spiritually, until an opportunity arises that will bring the family far from the drought and dust of Oklahoma. Or so she thinks. As the storms follow, she is consumed with the burden of her sin and confesses all, hoping to find Russ’s love strong enough to stand the test.
When Jim, a mysterious drifter and long-lost friend from her husband’s past, takes refuge in their home, Nola slowly springs to life under his attentions until a single, reckless encounter brings her to commit the ultimate betrayal of her marriage. For months Nola withers in the wake of the sin she so desperately tries to bury. Guilt and shame consume her physically and spiritually, until an opportunity arises that will bring the family far from the drought and dust of Oklahoma. Or so she thinks. As the storms follow, she is consumed with the burden of her sin and confesses all, hoping to find Russ’s love strong enough to stand the test.
On Shifting Sand by Allison Pittman was an amazingly written story of the sin Nola committed and the journey to forgiveness she goes through. This is an intense read to say the least. Nola is a character that some may not like because her sin hits a little to close to home. Maybe not because you have committed adultery in your marriage, but because of just the sin factor. She was unfaithful and that is something each one of us has been to God. Okay that was a little preachy so I'll just get back to the book itself. It was amazing and you should read it! Real characters and real situations. Read it. Now.
5 out of 5.
I received a copy of this book from Tyndale House in exchange for an honest review.
Q&A with Allison Pittman
Author of On Shifting Sand
About the Author…
Award-winning
author Allison Pittman has penned more
than twelve novels, including her series
set in the Roaring Twenties—All for a
Song, All for a Story, and All for a Sister.
Allison resides in San Antonio, Texas, with
her husband, Mike, their three sons, and
the canine star of the family—Stella. Visit
her at allisonkpittman.com.
1. What inspired you to write On Shifting Sand?
This is always the hardest question to answer. I loved writing about the dynamics of
marriage with my Sister Wife series. But then, a story of a marriage needs conflict,
and I’ve yet to see a CBA novel really tackle the idea of adultery in a way that
showed it to be a conscientious, willful sin, disassociated from the circumstances of
the marriage, or the relationship between the husband and wife. Too often, it was a
backstory to justify a divorced character. Or it was a series of close calls, but never
fully realized. I wanted to portray it as sin. Pure and simple, but unique in the fact
that it reaches beyond the sinner, and carries with it a risk in confession. And then, I
wanted to write a story that follows through a journey of restoration—not simply
coming back to Christ, but coming back to life. It took a bit for all the pieces to come
together, and so many of them weren’t discovered until I was buried in the story.
More than any of my books, inspiration for this story came bit by bit.
