Book Review: The Promise by Dan Walsh and Gary Smalley

Title: The Promise (Book 2, Restoration Series)
Authors: Dan Walsh and Gary Smalley
Publisher: Revell 

About the book: One home, two hearts, and the power of a promise kept . . . 

For the last five months, Tom Anderson has been without a job, a fact he's been hiding from his wife Jean--and everyone else. He leaves each morning, pretending nothing has changed, and spends his disheartening day rotating through coffee shops and the library, using their wifi to search job listings online. The stress of keeping this secret is beginning to put serious strain on his marriage.

But Tom's not the only one hiding something. Jean Anderson has a secret of her own--one that will seriously complicate their situation. Will the promises they made on their wedding day hold firm?

Available August 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

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My thoughts: This is my fifth book that I have read and reviewed on Books and Needlepoint by Dan Walsh.  (You can find all my reviews here. ) I continue to be touched and renewed while reading his books.  This latest, the second in the Restoration Series is no exception.  I would recommend reading The Dance first though as you get some background information that not knowing won't detract from the story, but I felt it gave me a better understanding of the family dynamics.  

I enjoy these books because the foundation for the restoration is based in God's love and forgiveness.  This is portrayed though, without being preachy and in-your-face.  It is simply a story, that could be anyone's story, about things that disrupt a marriage, a family, and the importance of communication and prayer. These books have touched me on a deeper level the last couple of years as my family has faced some trials where communication and understanding have played a very big role.  For awhile the communication was lost and it is just coming back to the level where it used to be.  The difference that it has made in our marriage and in our family is tremendous.

So, whether or not your family is whole, struggling, on the brink of disaster - I am sure that you will take something away with you after reading them.

~I received a complimentary copy of The Dance from Revell Book Tours in exchange for my unbiased review.~

About the author: Dan Walsh is the bestselling author of several books, including The Dance with Gary Smalley, The Discovery, and The Reunion. He has won three Carol Awards, and two of his novels were finalists for RT Reviews Inspirational Book of the Year for 2011 and 2012. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Dan served as a pastor for 25 years. He lives with his wife in the Daytona Beach area, where he's busy researching and writing his next novel.

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About the author: Gary Smalley is one of the country's best-known authors and speakers on family relationships and has appeared on national television programs such as Oprah, Larry King Live, and TODAY, as well as numerous national radio programs. He is the bestselling and award-winning author or coauthor of many books, including the Baxter Family Redemption series with Karen Kingsbury and The Dancewith Dan Walsh. Gary and his wife Norma have been married for 49 years and live in Missouri.

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Book Review; The Dance by Dan Walsh and Gary Smalley

Title: The Dance (Book 1, The Restoration Series)
Authors: Dan Walsh & Gary Smalley
Publisher: Revell

About the Book: After 27 years of marriage, Marilyn Anderson is tired of playing the role of perfect wife.  Her husband Jim is a successful businessman who gives her everything she needs -- a beautiful home in an upscale neighborhood, the financial freedom to be a stay-at-home om, an enviable collection of stuff.  Everything, that is, except what really matters:  love.

After years of trying to connect with Jim, Marilyn has had enough.  she longs to experience some measure of happiness before she's too old to enjoy it.  Needing some time to herself to sort things out, Marilyn leaves to start a new job and take dancing lessons -- something she has wanted to do for as long as she can remember.

Shocked to find his wife gone, Jim Anderson must sort through the past to save his marriage.  With a little help from an unexpected ally, he begins a campaign to win Marilyn back.  What he doesn't anticipate is how his actions will affect everyone around him -- starting with himself. 

Combining the literary talents of bestselling author Dan Walsh and the relationship expertise of bestselling author Gary Smalley, The Dance is the first novel in The Restoration Series. Readers will get caught up in these flawed but sincere members of the Anderson family as they rediscover genuine love and start a transformation that ultimately affects all of them. Based on the principles behind Smalley’s bestselling The DNA of Relationships, Walsh expertly weaves proven relationship advice to restore a marriage into this powerful novel.

In The Dance, readers will meet the Anderson family amidst crisis. Jim Anderson is a successful businessman, and his wife, Marilyn, is the perfect wife. Jim never expected to come home one day and find Marilyn gone. What will it take to restore their marriage before their problems shatter the entire family?

Smalley previously collaborated with New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury on the wildly successful Redemption Series introducing her readers to the beloved Baxter family. After seeing the impact those characters continue to have with readers, Smalley partnered with Walsh to create powerful storylines that transcend words on a page and begin to impact readers’ marriages and relationships.

“I’ve learned what a tremendous impact novels can have on the real relationships of readers,” says Smalley. “And when I read Dan Walsh’s work, I knew—this was a guy who can tap into the needs of the heart.  I’m thrilled we could work together to create the story of the Anderson family.” 

Other novels in the series will following the Anderson family as Walsh and Smalley continue to draw from The DNA of Relationships as well as several other of Smalley’s bestselling books on marriage and family relationships.

Walsh’s writing is known for enthralling the reader and creating emotional connections with his characters. In a review of his last novel, The Reunion (September 2012), USA Today’s Happily Ever After said Walsh has a “… gift for pulling the heartstrings and encouraging a slow build of tears within his reader.” Similarly RT Book Reviews wrote, “Walsh is so gifted that the reader becomes a part of his stories.”

Available April 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

My thoughts: This was a wonderful book! It really hit home learning that a Christian marriage and family can also have misunderstandings to the point that a person doesn't feel loved.  Marilyn was so strong to finally walk out, after who knows how many months or years of trying to get her husband's attention.  She moves in with a single christian woman and starts working at a local gift shop.  One day at lunch, she meets an elderly woman, Audrey, who used to own the local dance studio.  It is because of this meeting that she decides to take dance lessons.

Meanwhile, Jim also meets Audrey one evening after a confrontation with Marilyn outside that dance studio. Audrey talks to him a little about his troubles with Marilyn and convinces him to let her give him private dance lessons.  Jim hates dancing so much, he wouldn't even dance with Marilyn at their wedding!  Audrey uses these dance lessons to also start to teach Jim about relationships.  The Dance is very much a metaphor for life and how we relate to other people.

I enjoyed this book so much, that I order The DNA of Relationships by Gary Smalley this afternoon.  I can't wait to share it with my husband.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell in exchange for my unbiased review.~

About the authors: Dan Walsh is the award-winning author of several books, including The Discovery and The Reunion. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Dan served as a pastor for 25 years. He lives with his wife in the Daytona Beach area, where he's busy researching and writing his next novel. For more information about Walsh and his books, visit his web site at www.DanWalshBooks.com and follow him on Twitter at @DanWalshAuthor.

Gary Smalley is one of the country’s best known authors and speakers on family relationships. He is the bestselling and award-winning author or coauthor of more than 60 books. He has spent over 40 years learning, teaching and counseling, speaking to over 2 million people in live conferences. Smalley has appeared on national television programs such as Oprah, Larry King Live, Extra and TODAY, as well as numerous national radio programs. Gary and his wife, Norma, have been married for 48 years and live in Branson, Missouri. They have three children, all in full time ministry to families, couples and orphans, and they enjoy their wonderful relationships with their ten grandchildren.

The Dance

Publisher/Publication Date: Revell, April 2013

ISBN:  978-0-8007-2148-0

352 pages

The Reunion by Dan Walsh (Book Review)

Title: The Reunion
Author: Dan Walsh
Publisher: Baker

Expert storyteller Dan Walsh pens a new tale filled with the things his fans have come to love – forgiveness, redemption, love and that certain bittersweet quality that few authors ever truly master. Fans old and new will find themselves drawn into this latest story about restoration for the broken and ignored.

Walsh brilliantly weaves together two stories of men embroiled in turmoil – Aaron Miller a Vietnam vet who returned from war only to lose everything and of Dave Russo, a writer unable to love again. The Reunion opens with Aaron, 40 years after the war, slowly putting his life back together. Dave uncovers his heroic actions during the war, leading both men to find a second chance in life and love – if they’re willing to take a risk.

Walsh captures genuine emotion in his writing, and according to RT Book Reviews, he “demonstrates that, like Nicholas Sparks, men are capable of writing romantic fiction.”

Walsh has mastered telling stories set in separate time periods. The Reunion is a contemporary story with flashbacks to Vietnam. When Walsh was young, he hated history until he discovered a few non-fiction history books that read like page-turning novels. “They made history come alive,” says Walsh. “Reading became a joy. That’s my goal now, to create that same experience for my readers. I hope they get inspired and thoroughly enjoy themselves.”

Available September 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Dan Walsh is the award-winning author of The Unfinished Gift, The Homecoming, The Deepest Waters and Remembering Christmas. He lives with his family in the Daytona Beach area, where he's busy researching and writing his next novel. Visit www.danwalshbooks.com for more information. 

My thoughts: Dan Walsh continues to make my list of favorite books.  This one started out like any other book - you know what I mean - just starting to get to know the players, seeing if the storyline was one that was going to grab you, wondering if it was going to keep your attention - and boom - I was hooked and already half-way through.  

I loved Aaron Miller.  He was this unassuming older man who was just living his life trying to make other's lives a little easier.  He was a Vietnam War Vet where he had won the Congressional Medal of Honor, but because of how his life fell apart after the war, he didn't feel like he was deserving of it and never spoke of it.  Like many Vietnam Vets, he came home from the war with lots of psychological/emotional baggage as well as physical wounds that left him hooked on painkillers. All this made him unbearable to live with so his wife sent him packing.

Years later, after he had cleaned up his act, he tried to reconnect with his kids, but his wife shut the door on that idea and told him to just move along.  For twenty years he has lived with the regret that he has never been able to have a relationship or even know anything about his kids.  He finally got away from living on the streets, but his housing now is just a handyman's shed at a trailer park/campground.  From his little shed though, he does what he can to make the lives of the residents a little easier, a little safer, a little less lonely.

Dave Russo is a reporter writing a book to honor his father, who was killed in Vietnam.  He was just recently reunited with his son, Jake, because of the death of his ex-wife. He has realized that he had been valuing the wrong things in life and has vowed to spend more time with Jake.  While interviewing a Vietnam Vet for his research, he is set out on a journey to find Aaron Miller.  Little does he know how far, yet how near, this journey will take him.

I recommend having a box of Kleenex for the last third of this book.  I kept expecting my son to ask me why I was crying, but I guess he is used to seeing Mom cry while reading!  I have also read and reviewed Remembering Christmas and The Deepest Waters. 

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Baker Publishing in exchange for my unbiased review.~

The Reunion
Publisher/Publication Date: Baker, Sept 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8007-2121-3
304 pages

Remembering Christmas by Dan Walsh (Book Review)

Title: Remembering Christmas
Author: Dan Walsh
Publisher: Revell

About the book: Rick Denton lives his life on his terms. He works hard, plays hard, and answers to no one. So when his mother calls on Thanksgiving weekend begging him to come home after his stepfather has a stroke, Rick is more than a little reluctant. He's never liked Art and resents the man's presence in his life, despite the fact that his own father abandoned the family when Rick was just twelve. When what was supposed to be just a couple days helping out at the family bookstore turns into weeks of cashing out old ladies and running off the homeless man who keep hanging about, Rick's attitude sours even more.

Still, slowly but surely, the little bookstore and its quirky patrons--as well as the lovely young woman who works at his side each day--work their magic on him, revealing to Rick the truth about his family, his own life, and the true meaning of Christmas. With skillful storytelling, Dan Walsh creates a Christmas story that will have readers remembering every good and perfect gift of Christmas.

My thoughts: This book was sort of bittersweet for me.  Rick's stepfather, Art, didn't have a stroke, but had a brain aneurysm, and while I was reading it, my Aunt Corinne had a brain aneurysm burst and passed away the next day.  Her funeral was two days before Thanksgiving (part of the reason why I was absent from blogging for awhile).  But I don't want to overshadow the wonderful story in the book.

Rick's father had taken off when he was a kid, so when his mom married Art, he made no effort to welcome him to the family..  Though Art made many attempts to get to know Rick, Rick continued to push him away, eventually leaving for college and a career.  He seldom made it back to his hometown and had never gotten close to Art. He returned now to help his mom out, as she needed to be at the hospital and the bookstore they owned was their only source of income.  The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas were some of the best sales weeks of the year, so they really needed to be open.  Rick reluctantly gives up his ski weekend and heads home.

This was actually a very enjoyable book to read.  Rick is the narrator and he remembers the events one day while sitting at the corner across the street from where the bookstore used to be. It isn't an over the top sentimental Christmas story though.  The events really could have happened. It deals more with family relationships, finding out what's important, looking beyond the surfaces - making it all happen at Christmas time just makes for a nice Christmas book.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Baker in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Remembering Christmas

Publisher/Publication Date: Revell, Sept 2011

ISBN:  9780800719791

272 pages



The Deepest Waters by Dan Walsh (Book Review)

Title: The Deepest Waters
Author: Dan Walsh
Publisher: Revell


“I’ve written you a note, inside the pouch,” John yelled. “Don’t read it…unless you hear word that I - that I did not…” Tears poured down his cheeks. He looked away. “John!” she screamed. “I must go back…”


Award-wining author Dan Walsh brings a powerful love story reminiscent of the Titanic to readers. The Deepest Waters (ISBN: 978-0-8007-1980-7, April 2011, $14.99) is a masterpiece of historical fiction set in 1857 when newlyweds John and Laura Foster set sail on the SS Vandervere for their honeymoon. Soon, their fairytale becomes a nightmare when a hurricane causes the ship to sink into the depths of the Atlantic. John and Laura are separated not knowing if they will ever see each other again.


Walsh was inspired to write The Deepest Waters by the true story of the sinking of a paddle-wheel steamship laden with gold from San Francisco, California. The SS Central America, bound for New York City ran into a hurricane which sealed her fate around September 11, 1857.


Walsh takes readers on a journey through troubled waters as they discover the treasure hidden in The Deepest Waters, a story full of action and suspense. Through the Fosters, Walsh creates an amazing love story about what happens when miracles do come true.

My thoughts:  If you like a good love story, then you must read this book.  I can't tell you how many times I cried throughout this story.  It progresses as it rotates between Laura, John, and John's family in New York.  But it isn't just a love story.

Through Micah and his dog Crabby we learn to have joy in the present and not worry about things that haven't happened yet.  Through Laura we learn about faith and strength to face the unknown.  Through John we learn about hope and the strength of love and through his family we learn about forgiveness and acceptance. There is a strong thread running throughout the book about God and things happening according to His time and His plan.

This is my first book by Dan Walsh.  He also wrote The Unfinished Gift and The Homecoming.  He is definitely going on my list of authors to watch for!

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Donna at Revell in exchange for my review during this Revell Blog Tour.~

Here are what some other authors had to say:


"The Deepest Waters is a story that's been waiting to be told for 150 years. What a blessing Dan Walsh is the one to tell it. It is inspirational, spiritual, and miraculous--a hopeful message when the world needs it most."--Jason F. Wright, New York Times bestselling author of The Wednesday Letters


“A delightful story that took me back to an era when men were gallant and women were virtuous. Dan Walsh fully immersed me in a fascinating world from 1857 and left me longing for the movie.” –James L. Rubart, Bestselling author of Rooms and Book of Days

Available April 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
Deepest Waters, The: A Novel
Publisher/Publication Date: Revell Books, April 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8007-1980-7
300 pages