A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER#1 New York Times-bestselling author Jan Karon returns with the fourteenth novel in the beloved Mitford series, featuring three generations of Kavanaghs.Wounds heal, bonds grow stronger, and celebrations continue…Welcome back to beloved Mitford. After twelve years of wrestling with the conflicts of retirement, Father Tim Kavanagh realizes he doesn’t need a steady job … Father Tim Kavanagh realizes he doesn’t need a steady job to prove himself. Then he’s given one. As for what it proves, heaven only knows.
Millions of Karon fans will be thrilled that it’s life as usual in the wildly popular Mitford series: A beloved town character lands a front-page obituary, but who was it, exactly, who died? And what about the former mayor, born the year Lindbergh landed in Paris, who’s still running for office? All this, of course, is but a feather on the wind compared to Muse editor J.C. Hogan’s desperate attempts to find a cure for his marital woes. Will it be high-def TV or his pork-chop marinade? In fiction, as in real life, there are no guarantees.
Twenty minutes from Mitford at Meadowgate Farm, newlyweds Dooley and Lace Kavanagh face a crisis that devastates their bank account and impacts their family vet practice. But there is still a lot to celebrate, as their adopted son, Jack, looks forward to the most important day of his life–with great cooking, country music, and lots of people who love him. Happily, it will also be a day when the terrible wound in Dooley’s biological family begins to heal because of a game–let’s just call it a miracle–that breaks all the rules.
In To Be Where You Are, Jan Karon weaves together the richly comic and compelling lives of two Kavanagh families, and a cast of characters that readers around the world now love like kin.
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A Jan Karon book is good for the heart.
I’m really impressed by how moving JK can make a slice of life story. These books are character driven, and what characters they are. The overall effect is at times poignant, funny, and always entertaining.
Highly recommend.
Note: I have NOT read these in order. This audio version was available from my library, so I snatched it up. I’ve read one or two others, but now I’m ready to go back and re-read in order!
i have read all of the Father Tim books. They are just wonderful. Have to make sure the kleenex box is close. They would make a great TV series.
If you have not journeyed to Mitford before, this is not the place to begin. But if you’re like me and you have Mitford in your heart, this book allows us to hang onto the magic just a little bit longer.
The people who inhabit Mitford come with baggage. They all, even the children, have real problems—abuse, abandonment, rejection, betrayal, loneliness—to overcome. They are just as flawed, fearful, and far from perfection as we are. But what makes Mitford magical is that we get to pull up a porch swing for an inside view of the characters’ hearts as God’s love fills voids, erodes barriers, and helps folks bring out the best in each other. I’m always amazed at how Jan Karon’s simple style produces such rich character portraits that I feel like I know these fictional folks.
Visiting Mitford inspires me to cherish the small stuff, to find beauty in daily life, and to make time for people.
As my favorite quote from this book reminds: “Now is always a good time.”
Wish there were more books like this. Wish there were more pastors like Father Tim. Wish there were more writers like Jan Karon.
Anything Jan Karon writes is always worth reading!!!!!
Love the character Father Tim and all the books I’ve read in this series. The only problem I had with this one was the many scenarios of various characters’ lives going on and the reader hoping from one to the other. Parts seemed to drag a bit, but something would happen and draw me back in.
The books Jan Karon writes are inspirational, sweet and thought provoking. The kind of book I love to read before going to sleep.
I’ve read all of Jan Karon’s books and enjoyed them all as the are inspirational and heartwarming.
Jan Karon is my favorite author. I love all her books and this is no exception!
A wonderful end to the Mitford series.
I loved all of the books in this series, but this is one of the best ones.
LOVE anything by Jan Karon
Love these books
I have read all of the Mitford books and love the characters.
Loved this book! Comfortable like a warm robe and a cup of tea at the end of a hard day. Inspiring.
Another installment in this classic series. Life goes on.
I have read the Mitford series and it is a real life story of emotions and feelings of very ordinary people. You get attached to the characters and think of them as part of your family. Love it.
Nice holiday story about the residents of the town of Mitford. I think my two favorite things about Jan Karon’s writing are the range of ages of her characters, and the fact she doesn’t feel a need to stoop to vulgarity. A gifted writer doesn’t need to do that. As I read more of her books, I am beginning to see why they brought such joy to my late mother, who lived near the town on which the books are supposedly based. Karon does a great job of character development, and even if you haven’t read previous books, by the end of this one, you will feel like you know these people. I guess I have only one little complaint. Having lived in several small towns through the years, I know that there are both good and bad aspects. I think Karon portrays Mitford through “rose-colored glasses.” But perhaps that is because she loves the town and its residents so much, and that is a good thing.
I have read all of Jan Karon’s Mitford series books. Loven them from the first word.
I love this series of Jan Karon’s books.