“The Cross Gardener”                                          by Jason F. Wright

Review #165

An automobile accident concludes with John Bevan being born on the side of the road Even as he struggles to live, his mother’s life slips away. He becomes a ward of the state and, at the age of 4, is adopted by an apple farmer with two other adopted sons.

Though John's life starts out in sorrow, he knows mostly joy growing up in a loving home in the Shenandoah Valley. John seems to know where he's going and everything works out according to plan, including marrying his high school sweetheart and working in the orchard.

Another accident, when a deer runs out in front of the family car, results in the death of his beloved wife who is 8 months pregnant with their second child. Suddenly, John's life has no direction. He can hardly care for himself, let alone his surviving five year old daughter.
Caught up in despair, John finds himself returning on a daily basis to the place where his wife and son died. The two cross memorials on the side of the road become a haven and a hindrance. And it's only when a quiet stranger, the cross gardener, happens along that John begins to truly understand his purpose in life.

"The Cross Gardener" is a quiet book with a quiet message of hope when all seems lost.  I cried my way through this book and loved every minute of it!