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Chasing Hope
Chasing Hope
Chasing Hope
Audiobook8 hours

Chasing Hope

Written by Kathryn Cushman

Narrated by Suzy Jackson

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

A Personal Drama of Shattered Dreams and Second Chances A talented runner fully committed to Olympic dreams, Sabrina Rice's future was shattered by a devastating diagnosis. One forfeited scholarship and several years later, she has new goals and dreams that have nothing to do with running--something that's become far too painful to think on. Until the day she sees Brandy Philip running across the community college campus, easily outpacing security. Sabrina immediately recognizes world-class speed, and it's all the more painful that it belongs to a teenage graffiti artist. When a chance encounter brings the two young women together, Sabrina becomes Brandy's best hope for staying out of juvenile hall. Soon, Sabrina begins to feel an uncomfortable nudge that her new life is just about to be toppled...that God may be calling her to minister to this talented but troubled girl.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateFeb 7, 2014
ISBN9781470390730
Chasing Hope
Author

Kathryn Cushman

Kathryn Cushman is a graduate of Samford University with a degree in pharmacy. After practicing as a pharmacist, she left her career to spend more time home with her daughters and has since pursued her dream of writing. Kathryn and her family currently live in Santa Barbara, California.

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Reviews for Chasing Hope

Rating: 4.058823488235294 out of 5 stars
4/5

17 ratings4 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Enjoyable book. My early release did not have FF I it so at times it was hard to read.

    This book had to do with shattered dreams and how to deal with what you think God was telling you and what he was telling you.

    Some parts I didn't feel fit together but overall a good read.

    But a good story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Broken dreams. Heart ache. Does God see me and care about the things that bring me devastation? What does it mean when it says “All things work together for good”? I would venture to guess that all of us have at some time had our fondest dreams broken. And as such, we will be able to identify with Sabrina as she tries to overcome that desolate feeling, and maybe even with her as she questions whether God is there. As I read this in its entirety, I was able to look back at my own dark times and see that yes, God was there and is there. The things that have happened to me, are part of me, and have made me what I am. And if I look closely, I will even see that without those things, without the experiences I would be a lesser person, less able to help someone else in their need.Kathryn is a great author, bringing us multi-level characters that are human, not perfect, and sometimes not even altogether likeable until we get to know them. I am far from being athletic, but reading about it made me feel as if I too can run a marathon."Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group". 
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Chasing Hope by Kathryn Cushman is a stand-alone novel that explores the world of competitive running, chronic disease, and times when dreams die and life feels terribly unfair. Kathryn always writes great contemporary fiction that often deals with emotional issues, but I believe this is one of her best. Highly recommended!Track enthusiasts will especially enjoy this novel, but so will those not athletically inclined, like me - for this is more of a relationship drama between two strong women who are extremely unlikely to ever form a bond. Chasing Hope is about shattered dreams and second chances. Anyone who has grown up in a less-than-perfect home environment will relate to Brandy, and anyone who has thought they were using their talent and ability as God desired, only to have that door firmly shut in their face, will relate to Sabrina.Kathryn uses two themes that really drew me in, the first of which was Olympian Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire. At the age of twelve, Sabrina watched Eric "drink in God's pleasure as he ran" and felt the same calling on her life. But ten years later, doubts cloud her relationship with God as she struggles to understand why He would take away the means to accomplish that call.The second theme relates to a devotional Sabrina had written at the age of 17, when all was going well along her career track - a devotional about how the Israelites had been called to a life of freedom, only to whine and look back longingly toward Egypt when life in the desert became difficult. It takes her grandmother's words to help Sabrina see the personal application to her desert journey: "You thought you were going to serve God by Olympic glory. Well, maybe the truth is you are going to serve God because of your running, but through a much more difficult scenario than you'd expected - one involving pain and suffering and loss. Perhaps you didn't misunderstand God's call, perhaps you took some of the details in the middle for granted."It is a joy to watch both Brandy and Sabrina grow physically, emotionally and spiritually through the pages of Chasing Hope. The ending is realistic and powerful at the same time, and actually had me in tears. Sabrina came to the realization that for Eric Liddell, Olympic dreams were secondary to his desire to follow God in the best way he knew how. And for Brandy, it was the discovery that "maybe sometimes you have to lose almost everything to realize that there is something valuable that you've had in your possession all along."As I said earlier, please don't pass this book by because you're not into athletics. Chasing Hope is a character-driven drama that offers so much insight into the Christian life. And of course, sports fans will easily relate to its theme and message. It was an honor to review this novel and I highly recommend it to all readers.A digital copy of Chasing Hope was provided by Amanda Dykes, Amy Green and Bethany House Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Sabrina had it all going for her. Her talent in running had led to a full-ride at the University of Tennesse, and the Olympics didn't seem too far behind. Then something began to go wrong, and Sabrina saw her whole world falling apart. Struggling to find a new direction in life, Sabrina's grandma's friend asks Sabrina to take on her troubled granddaughter Brandy who also seemed to have a talent for running. As Sabrina and Brandy struggle to find common ground, they both find something even better- a new direction in life.I was very intrigued by the concept of this book, so I really looked forward to reading it. It did not disappoint. The story very quickly drew me in, and I didn't want to stop reading. I found Sabrina to be sympathetic without being too whiny. I really thought that the character of Sabrina could easily cross over in to a really mopey person, but the author managed to find a really good balance between making her sympathetic to the reader but still keeping her as a hopeful person. Brady was another character that could have gone into a caricature almost of a troubled teen, but the author does a great job of making you want to root for her success.This book was a super fast read. One really interesting aspect to me was the idea of what to do when your life doesn't turn out like you thought it would. Sabrina was so sure she was called to spread the love of God to everyone through her running, but then when she could no longer run she was so unsure about what she had felt. I think all of us feel this from time to time. We are so sure that our life is going one direction, and then suddenly we find ourselves way far away from where we thought we'd be. This book brings out the point that we can find our calling in life in different ways. Just because we think it's derailed does not mean it actually is. Overall this was an inspiring and interesting story. I really enjoyed it, and it will make a great escape while still leaving you with things to think about.Book provided for review.