Beyond the Cradle

Beyond the Cradle is Literary Fiction. The story opens in the mid-nineteen-eighties, extends into the early nineties, and scrolls back into the forties. Its narrator, Robyn Thomas, glides through many of the world's largest cities, but only one piece of earth captures her soul, a mountain community in West Virginia. It's not so much the place that moves her, as it is the people who've been influenced by the place over generations; for Robyn, one person stands out in particular, Samantha Sticker. The novel occupies the coming of age stories of two homeschooling girls from different family dynamics, dimensions, and worldviews. One arrives nearly fully packaged to walk the earth with surety; the other has many steps to go before she reaches her truest identity. The story promotes various elements of good, such as the possibility of beauty being found within well-grounded friendships, and in family relationships; sexual abstinence before marriage as a meaningful goal; discovering life-lessons within nature, even when death is involved; homeschooling, as an extension of family life-in-motion; and other topics of interest to faith-walkers. It, also, speaks to how God uncovers our hiding places, because His persistent heart of love is firmly set on pursuing and wooing us into His grace while we're still on this earth, where life begins, but doesn't end.