Francine Rivers writes from the heart with stories that both challenge and reflect our faith. Reading her 1997 novel The Atonement Child helped me sort through many issues I was facing as I processed the moral issues surrounding abortion.

But the book doesn’t preach.

It simply tells the story of Dynah, a young woman faced with a devastating choice. She’s a prolife Christian in a stable relationship, pursuing her education at a Bible college when she is raped. In the aftermath she learns she is pregnant. Will her fiance stand true to his prolife views? Where will the counsel of her parents and grandparents take her? And how will Dynah’s history influence her future?

Dynah’s story reflects abortion as a generational issue, present in many family histories before legalization, as many of our mothers and grandmothers can attest. An unresolved abortion grief in a woman’s past often will drive her to recommend abortion to her own daughter and to cling to an unflagging defense of the procedure.

If you have experienced abortion you will also be struck by Francince’s illumination of the dynamics of an atonement child. What happens when we believe one child can replace another to help our grief recede?

The Atonement Child illustrates the power of faith and how one young woman faced the challenges of staying true when it seems the pressure would crush her.

Through her faith, artistry, and storytelling talent Francine brings clarity to complex issues in a way that brings healing and peace to those of us who are grappling with these issues in our own lives.

From her bio:

New York Times best-selling author Francine Rivers had a successful writing career as a romance novelist. Shortly after becoming a born-again Christian in 1986, Francine wrote Redeeming Love as her statement of faith. This retelling of the biblical story of Gomer and Hosea, set during the time of the California Gold Rush continues to be one of the CBA’s top-selling titles, and it has held a spot on the Christian best-seller list for nearly a decade.

Since Redeeming Love, Francine has published numerous novels with Christian themes—all best sellers—and she has continued to win both industry acclaim and reader loyalty around the globe. Her new book Bridge to Haven released in April, 2014.

Francine Rivers shares the story behind The Atonement Child