The Guardian Angel's Journal - Softcover

Jess-Cooke, Carolyn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0824948793 ISBN 13: 9780824948795

Publisher: Guideposts, 2011

Synopsis

After her death, a woman is sent back to life as her own guardian angel in this lyrical first novel that examines questions of fate, free will, regret, and hope.

Returned to earth as her own guardian angel, Margot Delacroix, now named Ruth, watches herself, through her own birth, a troubled childhood, her first love, her son's birth, and, ultimately, her own untimely death. As she passes through this second chance at life, she must re-experience and record her biggest mistakes and her deepest regrets. As she relives her life, Ruth tries to change it and, in the end, prevent her own death. Ruth also tries to prevent Margot from ever falling in love with her husband Toby -- and eventually falls back in love with him herself.

A love story that proves that love is stronger than death, The Guardian Angel's Journal is a rich, lyrical novel that examines the questions of fate, free will, faith, and hope. This story asks readers to consider what they would change about the life they've already lived.

About this title

About the Author:

Carolyn Jess-Cooke was born in Belfast, Ireland, and is now a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Northumbria. She lives in Gateshead, England, with her husband and three children.

From Publishers Weekly:

Starred Review. Readers who overlook the uninviting title will be treated to a thoroughly original take on a familiar literary conceit. Margot Delacroix is dead as the story opens, but has become a guardian angel named Ruth, sent back to guard herself reliving her life, following the four rules of guardian angelhood: witness, protect, record, love. Ruth can affect what Margot does, a little. The life that unfolds, or re-unfolds, is harsh and filled with bad choices, but Ruth is there to give protection and nudges that may-or may not-be followed. Ruth is particularly anxious to better understand why her/Margot's teenage son ended up in jail for murder, and she sees a chance to make a difference, at great cost. Debut novelist Jess-Cooke, who lives in England, is a lovely writer; Ruth's narrative voice is compelling. The writer's fertile imagination generates a host of minor characters throughout Margot's life, all of whom have well-characterized guardian angels interacting with Ruth. The interplay of the planes of angelic and earthly existence is an insistent tease that reels the reader in and along. Jess-Cooke is one to watch. (Apr.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Guideposts
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0824948793
• ISBN 13: 9780824948795
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 311