BOOK REVIEW BY OUR CORRESPONDENT
‘I’ll take the keys. I’ll be home before you …’
So, where are you, Andrew?
What happens when your husband’s sudden disappearance is front-page news and you dread tomorrow’s headlines?
If you’re waiting, if you’re watching, if you’re listening, the ticking clock is deafening and a phone call will make you jump.
‘We are holding Andrew and his life is in danger.’
Silent prayers become more desperate.
‘We don’t know where Daddy is, but God knows. God can see him and care for him, wherever he is.’
This blurb on the back cover might make it appear that this book is a novel. It is not. It is the true story of what happened to an ordinary family in Harare in 1995.
The author was 28-year-old, with two young children, when her husband, Andy Shaw, disappeared. A nationwide search was launched and, days later, ransom calls confirmed that his life was in danger. The older ones among us may remember the posters on the walls, the stories in the newspapers.
Also on the back cover, Lucy Peppiatt Crawley says:
“Pamela Shaw’s story, and that of her children, is a story of deep grief and great hope, of devastating loss and tangible trust … [it] is not just for those who have had their own experience of suffering, but for all who need assurance of the goodness of God in the turmoil and uncertainty of the world.”
The book was published just before Christmas and has received favourable comments from both local and international readers.
“Pamela Shaw is gifted with words and storytelling, and although the story centres around her family’s journey with the Lord through grief, she has added in the stories of others she has met along the way. With their stories intertwined, she has painted a beautiful picture of the Holy Spirit’s work within people’s hearts in Zimbabwe.”
“I loved this beautifully written and heartfelt memoir about one woman’s courage and grace in the face of devastating and horrific loss. This outstanding memoir has challenged me to go deeper with God and has inspired me to run the race with faith and zeal. I honestly couldn’t put Home Before You down and read it in a few days.”
“I just finished this book last night and on the practical side of things it’s very well written, giving one a sense of the daily lives of this family and their loved ones and the tragedy they experienced.
“But on the emotional and spiritual side, it will grip your heart with the joys and sorrows this woman and her children experienced during this long journey filled with dreams and devastation, all while keeping their hope in Jesus. So many losses but so much faith and joy in their midst. So many questions but so much trust in the One with the answers.”
Published in Zimbabwe by the author, Home Before You is available at The Bottom Drawer and The Booklist in Harare, and at The Orange Elephant in Bulawayo. Paperback and Kindle versions are on Amazon worldwide.