EVerybody Dance, Now

I'm struggling with a title for this post. "I could have danced all night and still have begged for more,..." or "Shall we dance? Shall we dance?" Either would fit the bill for this story of a family going through some of the most difficult times a family can face. I jumped into this series with book number three, and while I didn't get the nuances of the first two, this third one does fine on its own.

Jane and Leander are the happy parents of a number of children
David
Ivy
Laura
Amy
Sephy
and I may be forgetting one or two.

Leander has ALS and Jane denies that it is the death sentence it's known to be. Most of the book is about redefining Jane's faith and finding her peace with God regardless of circumstances.

Laura has a drinking problem, but she's so far from home, her family only knows that she has become distant.

Ivy had adopted three children who have been abandoned by their mother, and one of the children has a serious anger issue.

Amy has been friends with Mitch for a long time, but Mitch has had to deal with his issues and they have decided they will be nothing more than friends until he's been sober for a year

Sephy and her new husband, Justice, have moved to Namibia to work in a mission--Sephy as a nurse and Justice as a veterinarian.

With every step of deterioration in Leander, Jane becomes more militant in her stance that God will heal him. When he starts walking with a cane, she rails at him for not having strong enough faith. In the midst of Leander's troubles, Jane's sister Ellen asks Jane to come visit. Their relationship has not been a close one for a long time and Jane doesn't know what to expect. If she was hoping for a warm welcome, she was sorely mistaken. Ellen is just as prickly as she's ever been.

There is a lot of angst in the book, They Danced On, Jane's for Leander, Laura's for her addiction, Ivy's for her children, Jane's for the son she gave up for adoption, Jane's for her sister Ellen, but all of it seems necessary for the plot to move at its intended pace. With as many characters in the book as there are, Carre Armstrong Gardner has done an admirable job in giving them depth and personality. I truly enjoyed the book and give it five stars, two thumbs up, and faith to face anything that comes your way.

My thanks to Tyndale House for allowing me to read and review this book.