Ribbon of Years: A Timeless Journey of Love, Loss, and Unwavering Grace is a novel by Robin Lee Hatcher.

The story opens with middle-aged Julianna Crosby somewhat at loose ends, feeling there should be more to life. Nothing major is wrong, but she just feels sort of empty, purposeless.

She visits an estate sale, usually one of her favorite activities. As she roams through the house, she finds an upstairs sitting room with a cardboard box labeled “My Life.” The woman at the door had said everything in the house was on sale, so Julianna opened the box. The items inside were a hodgepodge collection that didn’t seem connected.

Just then an elderly man comes into the room and notices the box. He sits down and asks Julianna to pass him the movie poster in the box. He begins to tell Julianna how Miriam, the woman whose house they were in, acquired the poster and what it meant to her.

As a teenager, Miriam had wanted to be an actress. Headstrong and impulsive, she didn’t even want to finish high school: she wanted to run away to Hollywood.

More people come into the room with Julianna and the older man, Jacob McAllister. Each person has some story to tell about Miriam based on one of the items in the box. Through frequent flashbacks, we get the story of Miriam’s life, from a teenage girl headed for trouble, to a young wife who can barely handle her husband being sent off to war, and so on throughout her 80 yeas of life.

She has many ups and down through the years, but eventually finds God faithful and his grace sufficient for all her needs. Her life, then, inspires others–even Julianna’s.

I heard of this book from Susanne, who loved it so much, she’s read it four times. I’ve enjoyed some of this author’s books through the years, so I looked up this book and found the audiobook was free with my Audible account.

I didn’t realize until I started listening to it that it was narrated by a “Virtual Voice.” I was disappointed, but figured it was free and I’d already started it, so I kept listening.

That was a mistake. The voice sounded human, but the inflections were often wrong. There was no emotion in the voice. Some words were mispronounced. Sometimes the voice sounded garbled and I missed a few words–if this had been a cassette, I would have said it sounded like the tape had wrinkles in places.

Miriam’s life was inspirational, not because she lived it perfectly, but because she learned to rely on God through all that happened to her.

The author said that Miriam was based on her own mother. The audiobook didn’t contain end notes, so I am not sure whether the events of the story occurred in the author’s mother’s life, or whether the character of Miriam reflects the author’s mother–or both.

The story itself was good, but I am afraid I didn’t love it as much as my friend did. I can’t pinpoint exactly why. However, I feel I can recommend it to you–at least the print version–without qualms. Maybe you’ll love it as much as my friend.

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