Review on Mercy Come Morning by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Have you ever had that situation where unfortunately your jewelry box has become a tangled mess?  And so with all of those lovely necklaces so bitterly entwined you find that all you are left is beautiful jewelry not being worn because of the knots that mar the beauty of the jewelry and render it useless for the wearer.  This exact scenario is reminiscent to me of what the main character Krista Mueller is embroiled in, in the very powerful and healing book Mercy Come Morning by Lisa Tawn Bergren.

Krista Mueller is a successful college professor in history living her life away from her mother who is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s.  Having never felt affirmation or love from her mother Krista has kept her distance, literally.  Only now her mother is dying and it is necessary for her to return to her hometown of Taos, New Mexico to be by her dying mother’s bedside.  Wrestling with so many emotions and meeting her old first love Dane McConnell who is the director of the nursing home where her mother is staying, poor Krista has lots of things to figure out.

   Using my earlier tangled mess analogy, it is so fascinating to read this story.  Poor Krista has so many knots to untangle with regards to her past with her mother, her past with Dane and just her past in general.  This was a very tender and sensitively written story and one that can appeal to anyone wondering if it’s ever too late to reconcile and find peace, especially with a loved one.  At first Krista’s jumbled mess makes you think there is no way that she is going to be able to untie all of these knots, but she does, one knot at a time and by the end of the novel you are filled with an overwhelming sense of peace and hope.  Forgiveness is powerful and frees not only those we are forgiving but ourselves as well.  I think this is a special book of hope for all of us, but especially for those going through a situation with those we love who are suffering from Alzheimer’s.  Very well done. 4 stars.