Every Waking Moment by Chris Fabry

Every once and a while a haunting book comes my way. This is one of them. This is a book I savored and will be thinking about for a while.

Treha is an unusual young woman. She works in an assisted living care facility, Desert Gardens, as a janitor of sorts but she has the uncanny ability to connect with the elderly. She can sometimes bring people back from the deep places like severe dementia.

But Treha has her own problems. She can't remember her childhood so she takes to herself the history of others. She has uncontrollable eye movements. She sways back and forth in an attempt to keep the room still. And it is like she has no emotions.

Two events happen that change Treha's world forever. The first event came in the form of two fellows who wanted to make a documentary about some of the elderly at Desert Gardens. They are captivated by Treha's giftedness and are determined to investigate her uncanny abilities. The other event is the forced retirement of the facility's director – the director who recognized Treha's gift and gave her the freedom to connect with so many. The new director has no patience for someone as different as Treha and fires her.

There is a touching story that develops as the film makers and the retired director work together to understand Treha and find out about her history. On the way they uncover a much larger story of greed and deceit with national significance. But there is also the story of the godly elderly people as they react to the new “dictator director” at their retirement home.

In addition to a great story line are quirky characters that put the finishing touches on this fine novel. And the discussion questions at the back makes this novel an excellent choice for a reading group. This is a novel definitely worth reading.

Chris Fabry is an award-winning author and radio personality who hosts a daily program on Moody Radio. His novels have won two Christy Awards and an ECPA Christian Book Award. Chris and his wife have nine children and live in Arizona. You can find out more at www.chrisfabry.com.

Tyndale House Publishers, 384 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author through The Book Club Network for the purpose of this review.