Novel Review and Spirit-filled Fiction Award: No Longer Alone by Melinda Viergever Inman

I reviewed this novel on 14/12/19 in a previous blog, now defunct.

No Longer Alone.

Manhood arrived prematurely. At the tender age of fifteen, Prentis lost both his father and his confidence that God loved him. He grew up fast after that day, abandoning his education to take on the responsibility and hardship of supporting his mother and siblings.

Now, in Prentis’s twenties, Avery reenters his life. A Sunday School teacher with a passion for learning and theology, she is intelligent with a captivating spirit. Prentis finds her irresistible. The audacity of attempting to court such a woman in no way weakens his resolve. He’s determined to win her heart. But male competition, vicious gossip, Avery’s unspoken fears, and the ruin of his livelihood hinder his efforts. How can Prentis win her? And if he does, how will they overcome their differences, the hard life on the Oklahoma plains, and a world at war?

Perspective by Peter:

It has taken me 2.5 years to read this novel. But it has been worth the wait! I have read the reviews and I can say that I agree with them! This is a wonderful story! Beautiful in its structure and execution. I am not into romance as a genre even from a Christian perspective, but I thoroughly enjoyed this and was captivated and engrossed. I wondered why. Just like Prentis investigated why he needed to attend church in this novel, (sorry, minor spoiler!) I investigated my query or as he did too, used self-reflection. While he had to work through the negative effects from his past, I had to work through why this novel captivated me so much.

It is simply this; if this was totally fictional, I would have classed it as just another soppy Christian romance where everything works out in the end with one HEA (happy ever after). Yes, I have a degree of cynicism! But this novel is not like that!

Inman has based this novel on a true story. The true story of her family, her great grandparents. So for me, this was hook number one.

But it also tells of the spiritual heritage the Avery and Prentis (Melinda's great-grandparents) founded in their marriage. And it was this that for me was so captivating. This was not just a love story based on two people who loved each other, this was an account that showed where the basis of that love came from: God. Avery and Prentis sought to love each other through and by His perspective and by His Spirit. Just as Jesus laid down His life to redeem man, in such a sacrificial way, so did these two learn that they had to place God first, then each other, and themselves (individually) last. It is very much reflective of the acronym,

JOY= Jesus, Others, Yourself.

This novel abounds with a variety of spiritual and Biblical truths. As I have stated in my review of Inman's other two novels, Fallen and Refuge, this novel (just like those two) could be used as a guide to how to live Biblically, but specifically in this novel how to live as married based on the relationship of Jesus and His Church. This was a breath of fresh air to read a novel like this with such Biblical depth and truth. Another aspect of this refreshing was that it did not read as instructional, or preachy (I don't mind that at all, but some Christians do and especially non-Christians!) but written in a relational manner, so that it came across as Avery and Prentis applying these truths and disciplines to their lives, discussing them in relation to each other, resolving conflict while learning about each other and becoming closer to God in the process. They took ownership of their shortcomings, presented these to God and to each other and sought to overcome them by allowing the Spirit to minister to them and show them how to change and not be divided. How important did they show the Word of God here. I was impressed at how they did not allow these shortcomings (pride, selfishness, insecurity, issues from their upbringing) to become a stronghold in their lives. Again, through all that, they placed God first, then each other. 

How very different is this to what we see today in Christian behaviour, attitude and in marriage? I know from myself that when I became a Christian it was impressed upon me by our church and particularly one elder that we need to be sacrificial in all we do, just like the acronym of JOY above. Not only did this benefit me when I married but it had the added benefit of enabling me to care for my wife as her chronic illness took centre stage in our marriage and relationship. Avery and Prentis testify it was Jesus who saw them through their hardships and learning about how to live together and honour God, but only by them bring everything to Him as their first action, the good, the bad and the ugly. How we all need to do this today if we really do want to be obedient to Him and allow Him to direct our paths and be the centre of our lives and marriage!

This novel shows us how to put live out our faith as we are instructed to do in James 1:22, where he says,

But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves

I have not read a novel where is so evident throughout. I must confess, it challenged me to self-reflect (again) on how I am living out my faith and how consistent am I putting God first and my wife, family, and others I interact with ahead of myself?

Reading this novel, reminded me of another that promotes our spiritual heritage. In The Watchers (Covert Missions Book 1) by Mark Andrew Olsen, he states,

I'd like to address the issue of "Spiritual Genealogy".... I encourage everyone to try to trace their spiritual genealogy as far as possible, as a fascinating and inspiring pastime. However, I have no desire to confuse, dilute or otherwise complicate the far truer and more edifying Scriptural nomenclature off the Family of God. God is our true heavenly Father and our spiritual one as well. Those matter supremely. I only maintain that tracing the path of the one or ones who led us to Christ can often reveal fascinating and revealing truths of our spiritual heritage.

I highly recommend every Christian reading this novel and its sequel, The Warriors (Covert Missions Book 2) just as I do the same for the sequel to No Longer Alone, The Shadows Come, which I am so eager to read now.

Inman is very blessed to have been able to trace her family's spiritual heritage and record it the way she has. It appears she has had a lot of resources available not only in the records that are preserved but by listening, as far back as when she was 6 years old, to the Avery of her novel, her great grandmother! The power of grandparents! My granddaughter has a great-grandmother and I pray Joyce lives long enough for Elizabeth to get to know and appreciate her life and heritage. I am now eager to read more novels like No Longer Alone. This is a heritage worth recording as Inman has. Even have someone write it for you would be fine. I am pleased to see from the video interview mentioned above that she is considering a third novel in this series! Please, Melinda, write this third novel!

Inman has also depicted the era of Avery and Prentis in such a way that the reader is endeared to this without a feeling of detachment that it was over 100 years ago and therefore unrelatable! Sure, a lot of us would have seen movies that depict this era and later, but there seem to be more movies set in the era of WWII than WWI (as far as I have seen). This was also another hook for me as my mother was born in 1918, so she was about 20 years or so younger than Avery and Prentis. I know very little about their era and only one photo of her as a baby (I managed to get it restored) but have heard much from her and my father about their married life just before WWII. I would surely love to have known more about their lives from their childhood years in this same era as Avery and Prentis.

I won't forget this novel. It will linger. It has encouraged me to work on the spiritual heritage of my family now that I have a granddaughter and most likely many more grandchildren to come. This novel is very timely in these times before the Lord returns. May our witness be on family and to secure them heaven-bound!

And now I focus on the sequel, The Shadows Come.

Highly Recommended.

The three ratings below are based on my discernment:

World Building 5/5

Characters 5/5

Story 5/5

The two classifications below are based on the booklet, A Spiritual System for Rating Books by David Bergsland:

Spiritual Level 5/5

Enemy Spiritual Level 3/5

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Spiritually, based on my review and on the aforementioned reference booklet, A Spiritual System for Rating Books by David Bergsland (Radiqx Press) and that No Longer Alone contains elements of the criteria of what constitutes Christian Spirit-filled Fiction outlined in this booklet, (click on the title below to see what this is based on), I bestow to Melinda Viergever Inman the

Reality Calling Christian Spirit-filled Fiction Award

Congratulations, Melinda!

If you would like to investigate this novel further or its sequel, click on the images below: 

Readers and reviews are an author’s best asset, so I encourage any reader, to consider reading No Longer Alone and submit a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest (or any other social media you subscribe to).

Reviews help promote an author’s novel to potential readers and encourage the author to keep writing. Reviews also help get the author’s message (and God’s message) to the reader, whether Christian or not, who may need encouragement and support in their lives while being entertained by the story.

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