Tuesday, December 14, 2021

"THE BRIDGE"--by Karen Kingsbury--life-affirming Christmas story about a hundred-year flood, lost love, second chances, and the beauty of enduring friendships (see my review)--heartwarming holiday tale also filmed by Hallmark as two touching TV movies

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The Bridge

Molly Allen lives alone in Portland, but she left her heart back in Tennessee with a man she walked away from five years ago. They had a rare sort of love she hasn’t found since.

Ryan Kelly lives in Nashville after a broken engagement and several years on the road touring with a country music duo. He can still hear Molly’s voice encouraging him to follow his dreams; Molly, whose memory stays with him. At least he can visit The Bridge—the oldest bookstore in historic downtown Franklin—and remember the hours he and Molly once spent there.

For thirty years, Charlie and Donna Barton have run The Bridge, providing the people of middle Tennessee with coffee, conversation, and shelves of good books—even through dismal book sales and the rise of digital books. Then in May, the hundred-year flood swept through Franklin and destroyed nearly every book in the store.

Now the bank is pulling the lease on The Bridge. Despondent and without answers, Charlie considers the unthinkable. Then tragedy strikes, and suddenly, everything changes. In the face of desperate brokenness and lost opportunities, could the miracle of a second chance actually unfold?

The Bridge is a love story set against the struggle of the American bookstore, a love story you will never forget. 

MY REVIEW: "The Bridge", from author Karen Kingsbury, is a quick, thoughtful, heartfelt read. Set in Franklin, TN during one snowy Christmas season, the story is told in real time and flashbacks, leading up to a life-changing miracle which will leave none of the characters unaffected. Charlie and Donna Barton are the owners and operators of "The Bridge", a small, user-friendly bookstore housed in an historic Civil War-Era building. A devastating flood washes away the hopes and dreams of the Bartons, along with all the books and furnishings in their store. Unable to recover financially and reopen the store, Charlie sinks into despair. Donna tries her best to encourage him and help him past his troubled thoughts, but being turned down by the bank for refinancing is the last straw. Thinking that Donna will be better off without him, he sets out on a late-night drive, intent on relieving his wife of her burdens. As he wheels through the icy darkness, he relives the happy years that he and Donna have spent together, and the joy that he found through connecting with people who came to the store. A last minute change of heart comes too late, and Charlie is unable to stop his fateful ride. Later, as Charlie fights for his life in the hospital, his family and friends rally to help the Bartons. Molly Allen and Ryan Kelly had met in college, become best buddies, and spent many hours together at the bookstore. While each of them had personal commitments back home, they stayed just friends even as they both longed for a romantic relationship with each other. Finally, one kiss leads to hope that love will find a way. However, Molly's father interferes, and his scheming pushes Molly and Ryan apart. They go their separate ways, each thinking that the other soon marries and has a settled life. When they both come to the aid of the Bartons, their reunion is bittersweet. At first, neither realizes that they have each remained single, having far different lives than they imagined for one another. As they work to save the store, and pray together that Charlie will survive, bits and pieces of their lives apart are revealed. Will that long-ago love bloom once again? Is there a second chance at life and love for Ryan and Molly, and also for Charlie and Donna? Will the community which found a haven and helpful heart in The Bridge, come to the rescue of Charlie Barton? While there is a reunion romance in this story, and also a second chance for a long-time couple, the real heart of the book is its insight into how what we do affects those around us. Everyone matters, and learning to care for ourselves as we care for those around us is truly living faith. "The Bridge" is a touching holiday read, but its message is timeless.

Book Copy Gratis Simon & Schuster

 

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The Beginning

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury comes this e-short prequel to her  novel, The Bridge, shedding light on the love story behind the bookstore and how it came to be a place of hope and encouragement. 


 


Karen Kingsbury's The Bridge: The Complete Story


Karen Kingsbury s The Bridge is the sweeping tale of Molly Callens (Katie Findlay) and Ryan Kelly (Wyatt Nash), two young students who share a profound friendship their first semester in college, a time that becomes the defining moment of their lives. At their favorite bookstore, The Bridge, they spend countless hours studying and inspiring the other to dream their 10-year goal. They bond with the owners of The Bridge, Charlie (Ted McGinley) and Donna Barton (Faith Ford), a couple who designed the bookstore as a place where people can connect and be part of an extended family. But when a misunderstanding tears Molly & Ryan apart, it takes a tragedy at The Bridge to bring them back together. Can they open their hearts to second chances for them, for Charlie & Donna and for The Bridge? 

 

Karen Kingsbury

Karen Kingsbury 

Karen Kingsbury, #1 New York Times bestselling novelist, is America’s favorite inspirational storyteller, with more than twenty-five million copies of her award-winning books in print. Her last dozen titles have topped bestseller lists and many of her novels are under development with Hallmark Films and as major motion pictures. Her Baxter Family books are being developed into a TV series slated for major network viewing sometime in the next year. Karen is also an adjunct professor of writing at Liberty University. In 2001 she and her husband, Don, adopted three boys from Haiti, doubling their family in a matter of months. Today the couple has joined the ranks of empty nesters, living in Tennessee near five of their adult children.

 

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