Chasing Hope Review

I just received a book by Kathryn Cushman called "Chasing Hope" and I finished it in no time.

This is the story of Sabrina Rice, a college student who aspired to be an Olympic athlete until a health diagnosis shattered those dreams. It is a long time before it is revealed that her health problems are related to rheumatoid arthritis. She holds a lot of bitterness in her heart towards the disease and wondering why God would bring this disease on her, when she thought His call on her life was to use the Olympics as a mission field. Her grandmother and mother have tried telling her there are other mission fields, but she refuses to listen.

Through some odd circumstances, she becomes a running coach to a "problem child", Brandy. Brandy has the natural talent that Sabrina also had, but she has no idea how to make good decisions or pour her energy into running for the right reasons (instead of from the cops!). Sabrina becomes Brandy's coach as a favor to both of their grandmothers, to keep Brandy out of juvenile court. They are not fast friends. They butt heads a lot. But they both respect each other for the hard times that have happened in their respective lives.

I loved this book. I loved the in-depth parts about running. I appreciated the author pointing out how dangerous RA can be. This book was completely entertaining and kept my attention the whole time I was reading it.

I will say this... the whole book was great, but when I read the epilogue, that clinched it for me. You'll have to read it for yourself, but I absolutely loved it. It made the whole book that much better for me.

Thank you to Bethany House for giving me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Buy a copy here.