Noted! - Softcover

Jacobson, Kathy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1942586094 ISBN 13: 9781942586098

Publisher: Little Creek Press, 2015

Synopsis

Jillian Johnson has devoted more than two decades of her life to a career in nursing while also being a single mother to her daughter, Marty. Now that Marty is all grown up and pursuing a medical career overseas, Jillian makes the monumental decision to leave her home state of Wisconsin for a new life in Los Angeles. Her true passion is to become a professional writer, and with her mind on that goal, she takes a job as a household helper for the mysterious and reclusive Mr. Romano. Shortly after arriving at his estate, Jillian is shocked to discover that her new employer is uniquely tied to her past. He was a huge, albeit unknowing, influence in her decision to attend medical school, the place where she engaged in an ill-fated romance with the man who would become her daughter’s father. Having survived this and other heartbreaks, Jillian is ready to open her heart to love again. There are certainly new men in her life, but none more intriguing than her employer, Mr. Romano. The fact that he stays hidden from Jillian and only communicates with her via brief and sometimes brusque handwritten notes only adds to the intrigue. Is he trying to hide something? Jillian doesn’t know, but she becomes determined to find out more about this mysterious man and see if she can help him emerge from his reclusive shell. It soon becomes apparent that she has her work cut out for her, and it will take every ounce of patience, and faith, to meet this challenge.

About this title

From the Author:

Kathy J. Jacobson is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa. She has worked counseling troubled youth, has been an at-home Mom, a church youth worker and Christian education coordinator, worked in campus ministry, and for the last twelve years, has served in rural parish ministry. In addition to her work in the church, she volunteers as a hospice chaplain. Kathy resides with her husband in the beautiful “Driftless Area” of southwestern Wisconsin. They are parents of three children, all “twenty-something.” Kathy is an avid traveler, having visited forty-nine states and five continents, with most memorable trips to Papua New Guinea, the Holy Land, and Tanzania, East Africa. She enjoys music, theater, reading, biking, walking and hiking, but writing is her passion. This is her debut novel.

Review:

We learn everything we can possibly know about Jillian and the weaknesses and negative energy that can handcuff the best of us. As Jillian struggles to find answers to some of life's toughest questions, readers begin asking the same questions of themselves. Jillian is just one of a bevy of strong characters in Kathy Jacobson's new book that takes a refreshing look at how faith, intelligence, forgiveness and common sense can lead us through detours created by love, frustration, jealousy and uncertainty. This is a feel-good book that everyone can identify with and enjoy! --Rob Schultz, Reporter Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Wisconsin

Kathy Jacobson, writing through the adult life of Jillian, has brilliantly interwoven the dynamics of conflicted family relationships, dysfunctional courtships and marriages, and personal risktaking! Jillian shares her faith honestly and openly as she seeks support from God through daily prayer for herself and others. Each of the characters' true-to-life struggles quickly bring the reader to our own reality, as we tend to join Jillian's quest for a new adventure, and for a partner who is "kind, notices things and listens to me when I speak." Could she possibly take the risk to love again? Men and women, alike, will recognize their own struggles reflected in NOTED! --Nancy Fulton Young, Psychologist, Marriage and Family Therapist, and Mediator Madison, Wisconsin

I recently spent an evening immersed in the story of Jillian's new life. Her reflections on the past and her honest fear over how her choices today will shape the future resonated with me, and I believe they will resonate with women today; both those who have laid claim to faith and those who are yet seeking faith in God. Kathy Jacobson brings to life the story of a woman who is imperfectly faithful to the God who loves her and who she loves in return. This is a story of the acceptance of one's own responsibility; a story of how God can bring learning, growth and grace out of any situation or decision. Jacobson's story also shows how a deeply faithful person can still have doubts and fears. Her heroine, Jillian is an "every woman" of faith; one who has made good choices and bad choices, a woman who has confidence in God's love and forgiveness but still struggles with doubt and questions. I'd like to invite Jillian to visit the women in my community. But since that can't happen, I d like to invite the women in my community to read "Noted" and to talk together about Jillian's life and their own. The study guide at the end of the book will be a great resource to help women consider how to reflect on their past and to step boldly into the future God has prepared for them. --Pastor Mary Lou Aune Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

About this edition

• Publisher: Little Creek Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1942586094
• ISBN 13: 9781942586098
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 220