The Sea Before Us is a deeply moving story of broken people who need forgiveness and grace. (Don't we all!) Author Sarah Sundin writes with such tenderness and insight into the human heart and the result is a book that is hard to put down.
Wyatt had fled from Texas 3 years earlier after a terrible accident (which wasn't his fault) that had his brother blaming him, enraged and ready to do him harm. Intense guilt at hurting both his brothers caused him to consider himself a Prodigal and he felt like he had to punish himself, despite his strengthened relationship with the Lord. He still had such a hero's heart, always ready to protect.
Dorothy's mother and brothers died in the war, and she was left with a grieving father who made her feel unloved and uncared for. And the man she crushed on wanted a different kind of woman than her, so she tried to be someone else for him to notice her. She struggled with feeling that she was not enough in herself, that no one could love the real her.
In addition to the incredible journey of self-awareness and learning about the abiding love of the Lord, the story also had some amazing details about what went on both in the preparations for D-Day and also the events of the day from the perspective of a navy gunner. I am not a fan of violence and gore, but the account was not at all about either of these things and I had no problem reading it.
Cold salty air filled Wyatt's lungs. For three years he'd refused to forgive himself, as if doing so would dishonor his brothers. Instead his refusal only dishonored Jesus's sacrifice.
"Lord, no more," he whispered. "I won't do it anymore. What I did that night was wrong, but living in shame is wrong too. You never excused my actions, but you forgave me. And I - I forgive me too."
This review was originally posted on Among the Reads