A luminous novel of a powerfully intuitive young girl’s coming-of-age in a small, Midwest town in the late 1960s. Eleven-year-old Grace Carter has a talent for hiding things. She’s had plenty of practice, burying thoughts and feelings that might anger her strict Evangelical pastor father, and concealing the deep intuition she carries inside. The Knowing, as Grace calls it, offers glimpses of … offers glimpses of people’s pasts and futures. It enables her to see into the depth of her mother’s sadness, and even allows Grace to talk to Isaac, her twin brother who died at birth. To her wise, loving Aunt Pearl, the Knowing is a family gift; to her daddy, it’s close to witchcraft.
Grace can’t see into someone’s thoughts without their permission. But it doesn’t take her special talent to know that her small community is harboring its share of secrets. A young girl has gone missing. Within Grace’s own family too, the cracks are widening, as her sisters Hope, Joy, and Chastity enjoy the normal life that eludes Grace. It’s Grace’s kinship with other outsiders that keeps her afloat—Lyle, a gentle, homeless man, and Lola, a free-spirited new girl at school. But when her mother lapses into deep depression after bringing home a new baby, Grace will face a life-changing choice—ignore her gift and become the obedient daughter her father demands, or find the courage to make herself heard, even if it means standing apart…
“A heartfelt and beautifully crafted coming-of-age debut…Don’t miss this one.”—Lesley Kagen, New York Times bestselling author
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This is a wonderfully written coming of age novel with an added ingredient. Not only is Grace, an 11 year old girl, trying to navigate life but she also has a special gift that she calls ‘the knowing’ that makes her able to see people’s pasts and futures.
Grace is part of a family with 4 girls and two parents. The only boy, and Grace’s twin, died at birth and Grace continues to get guidance from him with her special gift. Her father is an evangelical preacher and her mother is struggling with day to day life due to deep depression after her last baby is born. Grace’s father thinks that her ability to KNOW things is from the devil as do the people in their small town and her own sisters. Since Grace is set apart, she makes friends with some quirky people, a homeless man and the daughter of a hippie couple. She finally has to make a choice on whether she will use her gift to help people or whether she will conform to the person that her father, her family and her townspeople expect her to be and ignore her gift.
This is a beautiful well written novel. The character of Grace is well written and she is a character who will stay with the reader long after the book is completed.
This book captivated me immediately both for its originality and its heart. I love that the characters had so much dimension – at the hands of a lesser writer, the father could have been written as a tyrant. But Edwards wrote him with compassionate strokes and I loved his relationship with his children, even through the flaws. It’s not really his story, though. It’s Grace’s story, and hers is one that – while unique – will speak to anyone who has had to navigate being different. Five stars!
Well, of course I loved it because I blurbed it!
That aside, Grace Carter will wiggle her way into your heart with her worldly observations about her sisters, her depressed mother, her preacher father, and the townspeople around her. She is a giving child with a gift she calls the knowing and as she comes of age from the 60s into the 70s, we see her exploring what having this unique ability means to her and to those around her.
Eldonna Edwards is a wonderful storyteller, and this is a book I highly recommend.
I really loved this book. Literally could not put it down.
A pleasure to read about a not-so-pleasant life for a little girl. Interesting take on ‘the knowing.”
Eldonna Edwards debut novel, THIS I KNOW, is a story about family, loss, faith and acceptance. Eleven-year-old Grace Carter possesses the gift of clairvoyance, which she calls “the Knowing”. She’s a sweet child who just wants acceptance by her strict and devout religious father who is a pastor. He feels she’s possessed by Satan and treats her differently than her sisters. Her family and the town folk think she’s some type of witch, but her gift allows her to view glimpses of the past or foresee things in the future that always help and tell the truth. She and her mother possess the Knowing, but her mother brushes it aside and wants nothing to do with it. The family has had their share of loss and heartbreak, and it’s Grace who heals them and the pain they endure.
I absolutely loved this story. Edwards does an outstanding job detailing her characters and landscapes. I just wanted to hug Grace and tell her everything was going to be okay. She has a good head on her shoulders and she’s very loveable and pure. I would have liked more written about the character, Robin, who becomes an important part of Grace’s life toward the end of the novel. At this point I longed to know more about their relationship, and I didn’t want the story to end.
Definitely pick this book up! You won’t want to miss this one, and I highly recommend it. I look forward to future work by Eldonna Edwards.
“Jesus loves me, This I Know…” This song would play in my head at times while I was reading this book…..
When a book is this good, it’s hard to want to read the last word but reading the last word was also a fulfilling end to a book journey I’m so glad I took. What a nostalgic journey it was, too. I grew up in the same era as Grace’s story takes place in, the 60’s to the early 70’s. I felt drawn back to those memories in such a way that I couldn’t stop reading this book and the different things I could totally relate to. Going to Sunday school, the baptisms, the greeting at the beginning of services, the hippies and the free love, fitting in or not fitting in at school….so many relatable times.
The main character, Grace, is so likeable and honest. She has a “gift” that most people don’t understand and especially not her family. Her father is an Evangelical pastor and he isn’t accepting of her “knowing” by any means. Grace just wants her father to be proud of her and love her for who she is. This passage from her thoughts about being sent to church camp touched me: “There it is, his true feelings, right here in the open like a big ugly rock. I’m an embarrassment to Daddy and this family. All I’ve ever wanted is for him to be proud of me, to smile down on me with that sweet grin….” Grace is a kind hearted and caring girl. She has a specialness that she only wants to use with love and to help people.
I am in a book hangover after reading this story. The words are hard to come by to say how good this book is! My emotions were all over the place from so much Grace went through. I laughed at things she’d say or thoughts she had. I cried my eyes out at other times for the heartache and hurts she suffered. Grace is the perfect name for this character. She is full of grace. She was true to herself and who God created her to be. She was this girl full of compassion and love. Mostly I came away knowing I read a book that will be one that stays with me. THIS I KNOW!
Ms. Edwards is a superb author with such talent for creating a story that had me captivated at every single page. I was reading passages to my friend because they were so profound or so relatable to my childhood. It’s an amazing book and I’m so thrilled for the opportunity to have read it. Thank you, Ms. Edwards, for writing it. It touched my heart and soul.
The voice in This I Know captured me immediately, and the story of Grace and her family will stay in my heart forever.
Ms. Edwards characters live and breathe, they laugh and cry and they hurt with a pain that is so profound you cannot help but be touched. You will love some of them, hate others, nod your head when faced with a truth you do not want to accept because it is dfferent from any truth you have known before. And that truth will scare you. And when you’re scared it is so easy to deny what stands before you.
There are many lessons to be learned in this story.
This was an enjoyable book. The author is a natural storyteller. She pulls you into the story quickly and keeps you entertained throughout. The characters are well-developed and interesting. Grace will draw your empathy as she continually tries to gain her father’s approval, even if it means hiding her gift of clairvoyance from him.
I really enjoyed this one!
We watch Grace grow from a baby in her mother’s womb, see the world through her young eyes, and enjoy her precocious thoughts as she in turn observes and comments on the actions and motivations of the people around her. Her gift of the “Knowing” is also a curse, as is her ability to speak with her dead twin, Isaac. I found those conversations fascinating, especially since I more or less have come to similar conclusions regarding our purpose here on this planet. Grace’s gradual self-awareness and sense of self-worth was a pleasure to witness. Many people might be turned off by all of the biblical references, but the author’s father was a pastor, so of course her story had a ring of authenticity to it.
I thought I had been raised strictly, but Grace’s upbringing put mine in the shade. No dancing!?! Just about everything was a sin for the fundamentalist preacher (who is Grace’s father) in this story.
I was going to rate this one a full 5 stars, but towards the middle it got a bit slow and directionless: for example, at one point Grace’s best friend’s parents were getting divorced, with Lola’s Dad taking a job up north. But somehow that little side plot got forgotten: in fact, toward the end of the story, Lola’s Dad is still around and he even ends up finishing off the turtle pond after all. But this is a minor oversight and I suspect the explanation for why Lola’s parents are still together got lost during editing?
I did like how the author gave us a peek at “grown up Grace.” That twist at the end was so sweet!!!! My final rating: a glowing 4.4 stars.
This I Know is one of those books that leaves you wishing there was more to read. The characters stay with you.
I loved this delightful coming of age story with a spiritual twist. Highly recommend!
Lovely
Fantastic read!
I don’t think there’s a bushel big enough to hide the Knowing. It keeps getting bigger and stronger, like a storm cloud before it grows into a tornado. I’ve spent most of my life holding it by the tail.~from This I Know by Eldonna Edwards
In 1969, eleven-year-old Grace is heir to special abilities that allows her to know things others cannot perceive.
She communes with her twin brother who died at birth, warns about impending crises, and healed a newborn sister’s heart. It has been an unwanted gift passed down through her mother’s family–until now. Grace stands up for the goodness of her insight.
Grace’s mother is suffering postpartum depression, her eldest daughter taking on her tasks. Grace’s father is a non-denominational church pastor with a nominal salary that requires his taking part-time jobs. He does not trust that Grace’s gift is godly and commands her to turn from the Knowing.
Grace’s life in Cherry Hill along Lake Michigan is filled with the beauty of nature and the suspicion of townsfolk. She befriends a drifter and is taken up by the daughter of hippies. On the verge of becoming a woman, Grace must make the decision to bend to her father’s will or suffer rejection and isolation.
Grace’s enchanting voice captures the innocence of childhood coming to an end.
I have not read many books with pastors and pastor’s kids as main characters. Immersion baptism at the lake, communion and worship services are a part of Grace’s life. Edwards, a PK herself, captures the experience.
I got a kick out of “Daddy’s talking about idols and graven images, but all I hear is blah, blah, blah.” Or about Vacation Bible School, “I think most of the parents send their kids to get rid of them for a while because they’re bored and sick of each other.”
Grace turns to her predeceased twin Isaac to help her understand the big questions, particularly the nature of God and the source of evil in the world. It is the perennial struggle for people of faith. If God is good, why is there evil and suffering in the world? If God is all powerful, why does he allow it?
Grace’s friend Lola introduces alternative lifestyles, a freedom from social conventions. Grace is able to accept people for who they are, to see their goodness.
Edwards has given readers a sympathetic character in a vivid setting on a journey of self-realization, standing up to a narrow world view.
I received a free book from the author through an American Historical Fiction Facebook Group giveaway. My review is fair and unbiased.
I loved this book! It was different and tangled. I enjoyed the messy, hopeful, challenging family relationships, as well as the spiritual aspect of “Knowing.”
Being raised in a Pentecostal family, so much of the main character’s experiences were mine that it was almost like reading my life. I felt all the emotions because they were so familiar. I could read it over and over!
I will not tell you the story line, but I will tell you this: everyone needs family. Even big, bad, tough little girls, who have no one. This is a a book that will draw you in, and keep you, make you smile, laugh, grimace, even shed a tear, as it bores into your heart. Yes readers, Do read it.
One of my favorite books this year
This girl was my age in the 60’s and I related to everything the author talked about, places, things, and how a house functions with 5 girls. There were 4 in my family. I loved it and was sorry when it was over.