Found

The Andersens #4

by Jacie Middlemann

Claire Andersen Slavik was exactly where she needed to be. The last couple of years had been good ones even if at times filled with difficult moments. She had moved in with her mother when it was obvious she was needed. And never had a single regret for doing so. There had been days filled with joy and others with heartbreak. Now her mother was gone and the world she’d known had once again shifted out of balance. Claire was determined to take this time like a stolen moment to come to grips with the change in her life the loss of her mother had made. It didn’t matter that her kids called almost every day. She understood. But she needed this time away. The quiet and the peace she’d found in this little heaven on earth allowed her…forced her to face this new void in her life honestly. Little did she know her peace and quiet was about to be disrupted. Her solitude on the brink of collapse.

Patrick Andersen had a lot to think about as he drove through the mountains of Arkansas. There was even more floating around in his mind that he wanted to say to his sister Claire now that he and his brother knew where she was. But just as important was everything he wanted to find out from her. He believed she had the answers to many if not most of the questions that had surfaced in the weeks since their mother’s death. Not for the first time he wondered grimly if some of those answers was why she’d taken off so suddenly as she had.

Will the youngest of Livia Andersen’s grown children find the tranquility she seeks in the mountains of Arkansas? Can she make her brother understand the reasons for the choices she’d made and the secrets she’d kept? Will the place that brought their family so much joy remind them of the strong foundation from where they came…and the possibilities they have only to reach for?

The Andersen Saga is a story of family. It is a story about joy and loss, hope and sorrow, betrayal and regrets, unconditional forgiveness, high expectations, and unwavering loyalty. It reminds that at the heart of who we are is the family we come from, the family who stands behind and beside us and at times against us. And who we become isn’t just a result of those still with us but those too that we’ve lost along the way. It is about the twists and turns every family deals with, the conflicts from within, and the never ending desire for acceptance and respect.

Found is the fourth book in the ongoing Andersen Family Saga. Other books in the Andersen Family Saga include Betrayal, Resolute, Broken, Choices, and Regrets.

The Andersen Family Saga is a series of novellas, classified by Amazon as Short Reads. If you love sitting down with a novella style book you will love the Andersen Family Saga. These books fall between the forty-five minute to two hours reading time category of Amazon "Short Reads."

52 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 19, 2015

About the author

I fell in love with books when I was in the 4th grade and my free period was spent volunteering in the school library. I read every Nancy Drew book there was to check out, discovered collections of myths and fairy tales from around the world, Louisa May Alcott and C.S. Lewis, and decided I wanted my own library. By the end of that summer with the supplies our school librarian graciously provided me my books had due date slips, card pockets, book cards, and black electrical tape on the spine with the first three letters of the author's last name. I still have most of those books.
In the hope she could get me involved in something else my mother gave me a camera. Right around the same time my father told me I could use his typewriter when he wasn't using it. The typewriter won. We shared his typewriter but I also filled notebooks with stories scribbled before school, after school, and often when I was supposed to be asleep. Thanks to my mother, who saved just about every single one of those notebooks, I still have them as well.
Several years ago my father gave me his typewriter…the same one we shared all those summers ago. Every time I look at it I remember the young 4th grade girl who was quietly encouraged to do what she loved…and years later reminded with a box filled with notebooks crammed full of handwritten stories and dreams.
And it’s still not unheard of that I stay up way later than I should with a good book that’s just impossible to put down.

Reviews

[Sandra Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing

Found so very deeply dealt with grief and how each of us must dealt with it as an individual. Patrick and Claire started to rebuild their relationship. Even though Claire's siblings did not stand up for her she still loved them enough to give away her share of the inheritance so that Pam would be independent of Matt. It shows that the things our parents taught and time spent with us will continue to live within us long after they are gone.

[Richard Goodrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

An episode centered around Claire and Patrick. They discuss the grieving process and their individual takes on it as compared to modern society's. A few decisions are made. The greater picture, including other family members, is predominantly ignored. There is a satisfying intermediate ending.

Easy-to-read. Entertaining. Realistic. Unpredictable. Whimsical. Wonderful characters.