THE BOARDER SYNOPSIS
The story is set in a middle class suburb outside Lincoln, Nebraska. Annika Williams is a determined mother who left teaching to help launch her teenagers, Jarren and Lexi, into today's world prepared for success. Along with her loving husband, the Pastor Zebediah Williams, the entire family is certain they are living the good life.
But life has more in store than Annika anticipates when her husband, Zeb, introduces her to Carl, a homeless eleven-year-old boy with a sketchy past. Moved by his love of all children and a desire to save the boy from the streets, the Pastor convinces a reluctant Annika to adopt Carl.
Perhaps motivated by a good heart or some agency quota, Carl's caseworker, Rose, tells the waiting family that children like Carl come with something extra, characteristics that would certainly bring another dimension to their family.
Spurred on by what Annika believes is a promise of hope, unfortunately, it doesn't take long before the mother experiences a rough start with the boy and figures out that Rose's promise might have have had more than one meaning.
Annika discovers that not only is Carl emotionally unstable, but altercations with the police and his knack for pitting her against her family and neighbors isolate and exhaust Annika, making it incredibly difficult for her to maintain a sense of sanity. Even through changes that make her feel like she's lost total control of her life, Annika knows God is carrying her through all the feelings that overwhelm her. Now, she reasons, if He'll just give her the patience and strength to hold on to this little boy who unexpectedly completely captures her heart...
Will Annika ever reconnect with her family or feel right again? Is there any chance left for Carl to become part of a real family?
But life has more in store than Annika anticipates when her husband, Zeb, introduces her to Carl, a homeless eleven-year-old boy with a sketchy past. Moved by his love of all children and a desire to save the boy from the streets, the Pastor convinces a reluctant Annika to adopt Carl.
Perhaps motivated by a good heart or some agency quota, Carl's caseworker, Rose, tells the waiting family that children like Carl come with something extra, characteristics that would certainly bring another dimension to their family.
Spurred on by what Annika believes is a promise of hope, unfortunately, it doesn't take long before the mother experiences a rough start with the boy and figures out that Rose's promise might have have had more than one meaning.
Annika discovers that not only is Carl emotionally unstable, but altercations with the police and his knack for pitting her against her family and neighbors isolate and exhaust Annika, making it incredibly difficult for her to maintain a sense of sanity. Even through changes that make her feel like she's lost total control of her life, Annika knows God is carrying her through all the feelings that overwhelm her. Now, she reasons, if He'll just give her the patience and strength to hold on to this little boy who unexpectedly completely captures her heart...
Will Annika ever reconnect with her family or feel right again? Is there any chance left for Carl to become part of a real family?