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Have you ever thought about signing an organ
donor card? Readers will be inspired to give this issue some consideration
when they read Terri Wood Jerkins' exciting new novel, Searching
for Paul.
How does a young Maggie Brophy, who thought
she had married for life, reenter the world of the living after
her husband Paul dies three years following their marriage? Unable
to accept his death, Maggie embarked on an irrational search,
thanks to a psychic who told her that if she found the recipients
of Paul's donated organs, she would find happiness. Maggie searched
in vain for meaning in her life. A social worker herself, Maggie
threads her way through her grief, insecurities, and uncertainties
as she strives to sort through her wildly fluctuating feelings.
In spite of warnings, common sense rarely comes into play even
though she tries to focus on God's promises.
Maggie's love of horseback riding finally
leads her to a horse farm and the complicated existence of its
owner, Jaime McKellar. Little did Maggie know the unexpected twists
and turns her life would take after her first miserable meeting
with this brusque secretive man.
Author Jerkins is a physician who also possesses
a gift for writing. In her novels, her mission is to entertain,
educate, and inspire readers. Her third novel, On
Wings and Prayers, will be published by LangMarc in 2001.
Her medical practice in Nashville, Tennessee centers on diabetic
patients. Jerkins lives with her husband and five children in
Franklin, TN where they raise spotted saddle horses.
Searching
for Paul is the lovely, heartwarming story of a young wife's attempt
to deal with her beloved husband's death after only three years
of marriage....Maggie encounters unexpected twists and turns in
her life after her first miserable meeting with the brusque and
secretive man. Searching for Paul
is a highly recommended, emotionally
rewarding, wonderfully written romance novel of the first order."
—The Midwest Book Review, January,
2001,
"Bethany's Bookshelf," Susan Bethany, Reviewer.
"Set in the beautiful Tennessee countryside and
filled with the kind of characters a reader can empathize and identify with,
Terri Wood Jerkin's romantic story of two people crippled in more ways than one
who overcome their pasts and their mistakes to find lasting love is certain to be a favorite....
Dr. Jerkins has a marvelous touch with characters, giving even her supporting cast
more depth than is often found in any genre.... Just as skillfully, Dr. Jerkins reveals
the many facets of grief and how people deal with it--some wrapping it around themselves
like a protective cocoon, some burying themselves in work or pleasure, some simply
denying its existence. Without lapsing into lecture, she reveals the flaws in all
such coping mechanisms; and while this novel is not intended as a lesson in how to
handle loss, it nevertheless provides valuable insights into what can happen if we
choose to cling to the past instead of using it as a launching pad to the future."
—Elizabeth K. Burton, The Blue Iris Journal, Austin, Texas.
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