As Waters Gone By

Cynthia Ruchti

May 2015 · Abingdon Press

About this ebook

Emmalyn Ross never thought a person could feel this alone. Sustaining a marriage with a man who’s not by her side is no easy task, especially since her husband currently resides behind impenetrable prison walls. His actions stole her heart’s desire and gave their relationship a court-mandated five-year time-out. What didn’t fall apart that night fell apart in the intervening years.

Now, on a self-imposed exile to Madeline Island—one of the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior—Emmalyn starts rehabbing an old hunting cottage they’d purchased when life made sense. Restoring it may put a roof over her head, but a home needs more than a roof and walls, just as a marriage needs more than vows and a license. With only a handful of months before her husband is released, Emmalyn must figure out if and how they can ever be a couple again. And his silence isn’t helping.

Ratings and reviews

As Waters Gone By by Cynthia Ruchti is a Christian novel about hope and healing. Emmalyn Ross is moving to a cabin on Madeline Island. They (Emmalyn and her husband, Max) purchased it over eight years ago. Max visited it a few times with friends for hunting, but Emmalyn has not been there in many years (nor has she checked on it). Emmalyn is looking for a chance to start over because her husband in in prison and her infertility. Max was sentenced to five years in prison and he has less than a year to go on his sentence. Emmalyn arrives on the island and stays at The Wild Iris Inn (and Café). She meets Boozie Unfortunate (real first name is Bougie—French for candle). Boozie is a unique character. She believes in God, hope, healing, and fun. Boozie has a quirky sense of style and a great attitude. Meeting Boozie is one of the best things to happen to Emmalyn. Emmalyn finds out that a tree fell through the roof of the cabin during the last big storm. The cabin needs more work than Emmalyn imagined (I do not know what she expected after eight years). She did not even call to turn on the electricity. Boozie introduces Emmalyn to Cora Burman. Cora, among other things, is a roofer. Cora’s husband, Wayne, is currently deployed overseas leaving Cora to raise their children alone. Emmalyn and Cora bond over their husbands as well as Cora’s son, Nick (who just got out of prison). Emmalyn has not spoken nor written to her husband in four years at his request. She needs to find a way to reconnect with him, forgive him for his actions (crime), finish her grieving over not being able to have children, and start living again. A young girl named Hope Elizabeth and a little dog named Comfort will help Emmalyn as well as her new friends on Madeline Island. As Waters Gone By starts off very slow and it is confusing at the beginning. The book got much better after I was 60% through it. The last 40% of the book is very good and enjoyable. I give As Waters Gone By 3 out of 5 stars. If the first part of the book had been as good as the end, it would have been a 5 star book. I also did not understand what Emmalyn had been doing for the last five years while her husband was in prison. She has little money, had to sell their home, and she is currently unemployed. Was she grieving over her not being able to have children this whole time? Or the fact that her husband was in prison? That part was never really explained. I also did not understand why when her husband asked her to stop writing or visiting him that she just complied. If she truly loved him, wouldn’t she have kept trying to reach him? I did enjoy the character of Boozie. She is fun and quirky and not afraid to express her ideas and thoughts. I received a complimentary copy of As Waters Gone By from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The review and opinions expressed are my own.

About the author

Cynthia Ruchti tells stories hemmed in hope. She’s the award-winning author of 16 books and a frequent speaker for women’s ministry events. She serves as the Professional Relations Liaison for American Christian Fiction Writers, where she helps retailers, libraries, and book clubs connect with the authors and books they love. She lives with her husband in Central Wisconsin. Visit her online at CynthiaRuchti.com.