To Be Where You Are
Jan Karon
2017, 450 pages
Fiction
Episcopal priest Father Tim Kavanagh is in retirement, but he’s not sure what that means. Does he need a part-time job? Is he staying at home too much? When a friend goes into the hospital, a full-time job finds Father Tim. “God help!” he says. He doesn’t know a thing about running a small-town grocery store.
Newlyweds Lace and Dooley Kavanagh are settling in at Meadowgate Farm and Dooley has taken over the veterinary practice. But a crisis wipes out their savings. Still, they are looking forward to the naming day of their 4-year-old adopted son, Jack. And Jack is looking forward to his big surprise.
All sorts of events happen, large and small: a beloved townsperson dies, a young girl begins writing her first story, a husband tries to rekindle romance with his wife, a frightened dog finds a new home. It’s a story filled with the charming characters in the town of Mitford, N.C., people who are trying to make their way and help each other out. It reminds me of the beloved Miss Read stories of small-town life.
This is the latest in Jan Karon’s Father Tim series. The series starts with the novel At Home in Mitford. You can read them in order, but they stand alone well, too.
As the pace of life gets faster and faster, it’s a comfort to read about the good folks of Mitford and how they cope with their problems with humor, love and grace.
Robbin BaileyConcord Public Library
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