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9th out of 15 books
—
7 voters
The Cross Gardener
by
Jason F. Wright (Goodreads Author)
From the New York Times bestselling author, an inspiring story of life, love, and moving on.
Married and the father of a young daughter, John Bevan had finally found the traditional family he lacked as an orphaned child. But all that disappears when a fatal car accident steals away his wife-and the unborn child she carried.
Filled with sorrow, John withdraws from life an...more
Married and the father of a young daughter, John Bevan had finally found the traditional family he lacked as an orphaned child. But all that disappears when a fatal car accident steals away his wife-and the unborn child she carried.
Filled with sorrow, John withdraws from life an...more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
March 2nd 2010
by Berkley Hardcover
(first published February 26th 2010)
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After reading other reviews, I wonder if I am souless for not liking this book. I prefer that spiritual books either be realistic or allegorical. I do not like books that mix the two genres. Wright tells the story of a modern man who loses his wife and struggles to find his way in the wake of her passing. Fantastic things happen that step too far away from reality (and into allegory) for me.
CS Lewis mastered each of these genres without mixing them. His book A Grief Observed is basically journa...more
CS Lewis mastered each of these genres without mixing them. His book A Grief Observed is basically journa...more
On the cover, Don Piper is quoted: "Fresh and spiritual". I would have said: "Predictable and sappy". But that is not necessarily a bad thing as I would have been saying it through the runny nose and streaming tears on the airplane with the other passengers looking at me like I had lost it. 'The Cross Gardener" is an exploration of loss, of grief, and of survival. It is christian fiction and, therefore, also an exploration of spirituality and God's role in the lives of believers and non-believer...more
Generally, I like books that are funny or have an overall happy atmosphere. If that's you, too, skip this one. But if grief is (or has been) your constant companion, this one has some wonderful moments and lessons. I cried periodically all through this thoughtful book. It had some funny moments, but not enough to lift you out of its solemnness. A young man loses his wife and unborn child -- not a spoiler, this much is on the dust cover. He has a 5-year-old daughter who also survives, but he is s...more
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Jason F. Wright is the New York Times Bestselling author of "The Wednesday Letters", "The Christmas Jars", and co-author of "The Christmas Sweater".
"The Cross Gardener" is a very unusual story, a very moving story, and a story that looks at questions that many of us have asked ourselves over and over again.
John Bevan was born on the night his mother was killed in an automobile accident. He was moved from foster home to foster home, and finally found a loving home on an apple orchard run by Wayne...more
"The Cross Gardener" is a very unusual story, a very moving story, and a story that looks at questions that many of us have asked ourselves over and over again.
John Bevan was born on the night his mother was killed in an automobile accident. He was moved from foster home to foster home, and finally found a loving home on an apple orchard run by Wayne...more
John Bevan was adopted along with the other older two boys in his family: Scott and Tim. Their adoptive father was an Apple Orchardist with his own father.
This family suffered through a lot of tragedy. John’s mother died in a tragic car accident but doctor’s were able to save John. John’s adoptive Grandpa finally dies and then his college age adopted brother, Tim, who drowned in the Atlantic Ocean died and is just too many losses for such a young man like John to endure.
During high school, John...more
This family suffered through a lot of tragedy. John’s mother died in a tragic car accident but doctor’s were able to save John. John’s adoptive Grandpa finally dies and then his college age adopted brother, Tim, who drowned in the Atlantic Ocean died and is just too many losses for such a young man like John to endure.
During high school, John...more
The Cross Gardener is a beautiful tale of love, loss and the desire to move forward in life. John Bevan has a unique story. Born under dire circumstances, adopted into a comfortable home and loved by a wonderful girl, Bevan finally believed he was living in heaven on earth until a fateful day in August changed his world. The love of his life and center of his world, his wife Emma Jane, and their unborn child Willard are killed in a car accident while John and his young daughter Lou Lou watch. Th...more
The Cross Gardener is wonderful book to add to your collection, especially if you’re a Jason F. Wright fan. Wright is the New York Times bestselling author of Christmas Jars, The Wednesday Letters, and Recovering Charles.
Wright skillfully paints John Bevan as a character with incredible depth. John’s life starts out tragically. Right from birth, death is an ever-present part of his life when his mother dies in a car accident that instigates her labor. At the age of four, John is adopted by a si...more
Wright skillfully paints John Bevan as a character with incredible depth. John’s life starts out tragically. Right from birth, death is an ever-present part of his life when his mother dies in a car accident that instigates her labor. At the age of four, John is adopted by a si...more
(3.5)
This was a comfort read for me ..sentimental sappy, my kind of book. This one dealt with grief and finding a unusual comforter. I enjoyed the strong men relationships ... particularly the Bevan men, Wayne, John, and Scott. The father-son and brother-brother bonding were feel-good moments. I especially took a liking to Wayne, John's father. Wayne had desirable qualities. He was hardworking, kind, wise, and had integrity. My kind of father figure so I couldn't help but fall in love with the m...more
This was a comfort read for me ..sentimental sappy, my kind of book. This one dealt with grief and finding a unusual comforter. I enjoyed the strong men relationships ... particularly the Bevan men, Wayne, John, and Scott. The father-son and brother-brother bonding were feel-good moments. I especially took a liking to Wayne, John's father. Wayne had desirable qualities. He was hardworking, kind, wise, and had integrity. My kind of father figure so I couldn't help but fall in love with the m...more
I am not so sure how scripturally sound this is. The basis of the story is that we all have someone who greets us when we die. We do not die alone. This book would be teriffic comfort for someone who has just lost someone they love. However, I am not sure it is the truth of God that He sends us an angel,someone who has gone on before or not (I need to check through scripture about this). I have always believed through what scripture teaches that to be absent from the body is to be present with t...more
4 likes · like · see review
In the first short chapter, a baby is born along the side of the road following a car accident, and both mother and baby are taken by ambulances to the hospital. Only one of them survives. Talk about grabbing my attention on the first page!
The rest of the story follows John, the baby named after the EMT who delivered him at that tragic accident. He celebrates many joys and suffers more tragedies in his life, all while looking for greater meaning in life. It is an emotional and inspirational stor...more
The rest of the story follows John, the baby named after the EMT who delivered him at that tragic accident. He celebrates many joys and suffers more tragedies in his life, all while looking for greater meaning in life. It is an emotional and inspirational stor...more
Tearjerker would be an understated way to describe The Cross Gardener. Just when I thought I was finished crying, I'd start all over again. My poor, poofy eyes and stuffy nose.
The Cross Gardener tells the emotional story of John Bevan. The details of his birth and then adoption were given factually. Although the birth story wasn't happy, it was a detail. But, Jason F. Wright painted a picture of John's adolescence and young adulthood that drew me in.
I was heartbroken when John's wife and baby d...more
The Cross Gardener tells the emotional story of John Bevan. The details of his birth and then adoption were given factually. Although the birth story wasn't happy, it was a detail. But, Jason F. Wright painted a picture of John's adolescence and young adulthood that drew me in.
I was heartbroken when John's wife and baby d...more
Mar 06, 2011
Bekah Crozier
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
adult-booktalks,
my-favourite-adult-fiction
This is a beautiful story.
We are introduced to the main character, John Bevan, as he is delivered on the side of the highway and loses his mother - a mother he would never know. He is adopted by an orchardist and welcomed into the family as the third son. It appears the story will take a turn for the better there - that John will live happily ever after with those on the orchard - but unfortunately, he must survive the loss of several others close to him, including his wife and unborn son.
This...more
May 04, 2010
Lyn M (readinghearts)
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of Nicholas Sparks and Paul Evans
Recommended to Lyn M (readinghearts) by:
found at library and Laurie
If you like the books of Nicholas Sparks or Paul Evans, or even the Jame Patterson ones that are contemporary fiction, you will love this book. It is a poignant and moving story about a man who is trying to deal with the loss of his wife and son in a tragic automobile accident. It is not only a story about loss, but also about hope, redemption, moving on, being there for others. The story is both heart wrenching and satisfying. I actually cried at the end, it was so beautifully written. In addit...more
The author came up with an interesting way to approach grief in this story. It is a down-home, simple read, but over the past 6 months, I find myself coming back to the images and the feelings that this book imparts.
This book deals with a heartbreaking loss. The story/writing is able to delve into the humanity of grief and loss rather than the existential nihilism of such an event, which differentiates itself from 99% of works written after 2003.
I bought this book at Big Lots for $3. The books t...more
This book deals with a heartbreaking loss. The story/writing is able to delve into the humanity of grief and loss rather than the existential nihilism of such an event, which differentiates itself from 99% of works written after 2003.
I bought this book at Big Lots for $3. The books t...more
Another great book by Jason F. Wright. I knew there was going to be a twist at the end but I definitely didn't predict what it was! This is about a man, John Bevan, who tragically loses his wife and unborn child in a car accident. He is overcome with grief and finds it hard to accomplish any day-to-day tasks. He visits the crash site often, where he has constructed two white crosses, and one day he meets another man there who is tending to the crosses. At first, John does not want this "Cross Ga...more
I started this book just two days before my own family was in an auto collision, so obviously that will shadow my review. I liked the message about Listening that was a theme of this book. I had a hard time with the father being wrapped up in his own grief and not being able to extend himself to his daughter for such a long time. I can understand it considering all he'd been through and that he needed time to fully grieve, but I think if it had been a mother that survived, the daughter would hav...more
If you like Nicholas Sparks or Mitch Albom, you'll like this book.
It all starts out happy. Boy is adopted into loving family, boy grows up and marries his soulmate. After that, it is pretty sad. The wife and unborn son are killed in an accident and the man is left with his 5 year old daughter.
The rest of the story is about grief, and working through it. As a Christian book, it's supposed to ease the pain of loss by telling us that death is not hard for the deceased, that they just pass quietly...more
It all starts out happy. Boy is adopted into loving family, boy grows up and marries his soulmate. After that, it is pretty sad. The wife and unborn son are killed in an accident and the man is left with his 5 year old daughter.
The rest of the story is about grief, and working through it. As a Christian book, it's supposed to ease the pain of loss by telling us that death is not hard for the deceased, that they just pass quietly...more
John's mother died while giving him birth after a car accident and as adopted by Wayne Bevan who also had two other adopted boys. John married his high school sweetheart, Emma Jane and had a daughter and was expecting when she and their unborn son both died in an auto accident. It was unbearable of what he and his daugher were going through. Along came the "cross gardener." He was just about everywhere that John showed up at.
No matter where the roads take you in life, you might feel lonely and a...more
No matter where the roads take you in life, you might feel lonely and a...more
I've read all of Jason's books and I think this could be his best yet. It's thought-provoking, inspirational, and spiritual but it's also a wonderful love story and has a hint of mystery. This one will stay with you long after you've closed the book and set it on the shelf
Each and every time you drive by a roadside cross you will come back to this book. You will wonder about the lives that were lost and about the lives that were left behind. Who were they, what were their stories? It will leave...more
Each and every time you drive by a roadside cross you will come back to this book. You will wonder about the lives that were lost and about the lives that were left behind. Who were they, what were their stories? It will leave...more
A touching story of bereavement set in contemporary Shenandoah Valley, Virginia where Christianity is by no means out of style. The bereaved, John Bevan, is a young widower left with his five year old daughter by an accident which takes the life of his wife and unborn son. As he struggles with this, perhaps life's severest test, help comes in a manner which transforms the book from realistic fiction to speculative- but which in no way invalidates the author's sincere intent to comfort as he ente...more
I read this book for book club. This is my first experience reading Jason Wright, so I wasn't expecting the ending. Before the twist, though, I thought it was pretty believable with very realistic characters. I think I would have appreciated the twist more if there weren't so many problems logistically with it. I also think I would have enjoyed it more had I not been reading it while waiting for my husband to come out of surgery. I should never read a book about a spouse dying when mine is in an...more
Enjoyed it quite a bit. He's kind of my un-Richard Paul Evans. Similar idea, big life changing events, love lost and found, mega emotion, learning moments - but Jason Wright isn't quite as smooth as RP Evans, he's a bit more rough around the edges. None the less, I do enjoy his books. This one will leave you crying, but it's good. The end, or maybe the big reveal, was slightly weird, but also after I read it, it made sense and was good. If you like the books that grip you inside, RP Evans, Nicho...more
The hardest skill for us to learn is not forgiveness but listening. This is a life lesson from the book. Similar to the Shack. Realistic and allegorical I'd say.
It was easy to read. The short chapters suited me
Not all suffering in life has a cross, or an obvious outward sign. We can overlook it.
Liked how the Cross Gardener helped John deal, heal and move forward in his life. Didn't agree with all the theology, but I like fiction, I like reading how someone else sees it. Good story.
This was my...more
It was easy to read. The short chapters suited me
Not all suffering in life has a cross, or an obvious outward sign. We can overlook it.
Liked how the Cross Gardener helped John deal, heal and move forward in his life. Didn't agree with all the theology, but I like fiction, I like reading how someone else sees it. Good story.
This was my...more
Reminded me of a Mitch Albom novel, but since I'm a Mitch Albom fan, it's most definately a compliment.
I knew this novel was going to be a tear-jerker, the subject matter alone was an indicator of that. This novel drew me in right away. I love country life, country living & I have this strange obsession with apple orchards, I've always felt it would be amazing to live on one. Since the novel took place on an orchard, I knew I'd be hooked. The characters were defined, I had that "connection"...more
I knew this novel was going to be a tear-jerker, the subject matter alone was an indicator of that. This novel drew me in right away. I love country life, country living & I have this strange obsession with apple orchards, I've always felt it would be amazing to live on one. Since the novel took place on an orchard, I knew I'd be hooked. The characters were defined, I had that "connection"...more
This is my favorite of Jason Wright's books, so far. It offers a quick, satisfying read and, like his other novels, provides a down-to-earth view of small-town life and the importance of family and self-awareness.
"The Cross Gardener" tells the story of an orphan who finds a family and a destiny in the Northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. After losing his mother on the side of a local highway in Strasburg, Virginia, John, only one day old, experiences the mysterious inner workings of fate. Wit...more
"The Cross Gardener" tells the story of an orphan who finds a family and a destiny in the Northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. After losing his mother on the side of a local highway in Strasburg, Virginia, John, only one day old, experiences the mysterious inner workings of fate. Wit...more
Jason Wright is a wonderful story-teller. The Cross Gardener is about love, life and loss. John Belven's happy life is shatterd with the death of his wife and unborn child in a car accident. How do people react when there is such a terrible unexpected loss? John withdraws from life. He spends his time at the scene of the crash, grieving. One day he meets a man touching up the paint of the two crosses John built. He gives his name only as the cross gardener but as John learns more about him and h...more
Ok, so no secret that the only time I usually update this is when I find a book I really like. I think this book is one of the few that makes me what to stop reading for a while (a few days) to absorb the wonderful message that this book has. A summary would ruin the plot but the message is that no one dies alone. The love that God has for us is obvious. This is the 2nd book by Jason Wright that has really made an impact on me. I will look forward to more. Read this book.
Meh. The writing was too choppy at times...like he wanted to emphasize so many points that there were too many of those one-short-sentence paragraphs. Mostly I felt like I'd read this book before (The Five People You Meet in Heaven; The Peacegiver; Tuesdays With Morrie; Have a Little Faith; The Holy Secret)...I'm not a major fan of the "slightly clueless guy meets wise, mysterious mentor" formula, I guess. It was a sweet book, but it seemed to have an exaggerated sense of its own depth and wisdo...more
After a man's wife and baby die in a car accident, he can't seem to move on with life. He spends most of his time caring for the crosses he erected at the site, and neglects his little girl who is still alive. One day when he goes to tend the crosses, a "mysterious stranger" is taking care of his gardening duties. This "stranger" helps the man move on with his life. Sometimes we get stuck in the past and can't move forward. If that's a problem, this book is for you.
There is nothing better than a story that keeps you wanting more... The Cross Gardner is the first book I have read by Jason F. Wright. Such an excellent concept about the 'crosses' often seen on the side of the road. Surely, everyone has wondered at some point about the life lost when passing the roadside markers. Having lost a child to a car accident, I for one can say Mr. Wright captured how I felt at the time of my loss.
Beautiful writing... I look forward to reading his other works.
Beautiful writing... I look forward to reading his other works.
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Jason Wright was raised in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a regular contributor on Fox News, offering political commentary on the presidential race and serves as founder and managing director of the widely read political destination, PoliticalDerby.com. Jason enjoys volunteering and has created a literary program dedicated to creative writing for middle school students in the central Virginia ar...more
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