This is the first time I read Sarah Sundin, and I loved her. The Sea Before Us is the first of her Sunrise at Normandy series. Sadly, all my American History classes were too focused on other areas of history to dive into the second world war and what it looked like. That fateful day at Normandy changed the tide of the war and Sarah Sundin did a beautiful job of representing those who served on the sea that day.

More intriguing to me was the beautiful story of redemption. Wyatt’s redemptive story was so well written. Sundin captured the emotions of what it is to need forgiveness from someone who may die before you can ask for their forgiveness. She walks her readers through how to forgive oneself, and experience God’s forgiveness in full. We can never pay the debt and God’s forgiveness is a free gift to those who seek it. I loved Wyatt’s story of self-guilt and condemnation and how he found peace.

Another thread in the story that tugged at my heart is the mesmerizing Dorothy. Dorothy’s vivacious personality is attractive to all those who are around her. If they are not attracted to her, they are jealous of her. Yet, she struggles with a deep root of self-doubt and is willing to be who she is not to achieve what she thinks she wants. It is a sad choice many of us women make. Only until we realize the depth of God’s love for us, and that we are beautiful exactly as who God created us to be, can we receive God’s best. Otherwise, we spend our lives pursuing the counterfeit that only makes us miserable.

The love triangles and the daring adventure of war combined with a redemption story is beautifully written and I will be one of the first to own the next in the series Sunrise at Normandy. I highly recommend!

Leslie