Beyond the Blue

Informationen zum Autor Leslie Gould is the author of Garden of Dreams. She works as an editor and writer in Portland, Oregon where she lives with her husband and four children. Klappentext Two Worlds. Two Women. One Love. In 1975, an American girl named Genevieve loses her mother when a plane full of orphans crashes in war-ravaged Vietnam. Miles away in the countryside, seven-year-old Lan, a Vietnamese girl, is forced out of her family home by her own brother who has joined the Viet Cong. Worlds apart, these two girls come into womanhood struggling to recover a sense of family-until their journeys suddenly converge. Lan has grown up in the harsh realities of post-war Vietnam, but she yearns for a better life for her children. Meanwhile, Genevieve marries and, faced with infertility, decides to adopt a child from the country her own mother loved so deeply. But the uncertainty and risk of international adoption threatens to overwhelm both women before their hearts and their families can be healed. Beyond the Blue is the story of enormous losses, unthinkable choices, and the transforming power of God's love for the children of the world.Chapter 1 Gen sat cross-legged on her bed, clenching her fist around the figurine of the Vietnamese girl, digging her fingernails into her palm. Tomorrow her mother would leave for Vietnam. Gen closed her eyes. Bombs exploded. Jungles burned. The Viet Cong marched toward Saigon. Nhat cried–all alone–in the orphanage. Her eyes flew open. She hadn’t been afraid when her mother traveled to the country a year ago. But now Gen was older; now she was nine; now she knew to be frightened. Where was Mom? Her mother tucked her into bed every night. What was taking her so long? Gen opened her hand. The figurine’s dark eyes shone above her tiny nose and lifelike smile; carved braids framed her face. She wore a red tunic and pants and held a miniature wooden doll. “Time for bed!” Mom hurried into the room. Mama. Gen squeezed her hand shut again, completely covering the carving. Her mother sat next to Gen and pulled her close. “You’re going to be the best big sister ever.” The red fluid in Gen’s lava lamp bubbled and cast a glow over her mom’s face. She was going to Vietnam to bring Nhat home; Gen would finally be a sister. Her mom smoothed Gen’s dark hair back from her forehead. Her touch was gentle. “Are you worried about anything?” Gen bit her lower lip and reached for her mother’s hand, holding it tight. “About my leaving? About Nhat coming home to live with us?” Her mom leaned her cheek against the top of Gen’s head. Gen snuggled closer. They had been waiting all year for the paperwork to be approved so they could adopt Nhat. She pictured her new little brother holding a bowl of rice, his only meal for the day. “Mom?” “What, sweetheart?” “Does Nhat use chopsticks?” Her mom smiled. “I don’t think so. He’s only two.” Photos of Nhat hung on the refrigerator. He was only a year old when the pictures were taken; he was Amerasian with light skin and wavy hair, and he peered at Mom with adoring eyes and a big smile. In one picture, his hands were entwined in her long, dark hair. “Will you teach him to use chopsticks?” Her mother’s cheek still rested on Gen’s head. “Yes.” “And me?” “And you, Genni.” Genevieve was her given name. Mama was the only one who called her Genni. Gen slowly opened her hand. The carving was part of a family of place-card holders that her mother bought last year in the open-air market in Saigon. “When will we use these?” Gen ran her finger along the slit that would hold a card in the girl’s back. “When we have special dinners. Birthdays and holidays.” Her mom laughed a little. “You’ll see. I’ll cook more than Hamburger Helper when I get home. Things will calm down. I’ll spend all my time taking care of you and Nhat.” “Tell me abo...

Product details

• Authors: Leslie Gould
• Publisher: Waterbrook press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 19.04.2005
• EAN: 9781578568222
• ISBN: 978-1-57856-822-2
• No. of pages: 368
• Dimensions: 138 mm x 208 mm x 24 mm
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature