Celebrate Lit / June 2, 2019

Just a Train Ride

About the Book Just a Train Ride

Book: Just a Train Ride

Author: Elizabeth Wehman

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

Release Date: September 1, 2017

She was born during the Great Depression, dated a soldier shipped across the world into the upheavals of war. Despite the haunting scars of battle, she married that soldier when he returned. After the loss of her husband of sixty years, an annual trip to visit her grandson in Chicago always helped ease her loneliness.

Yet in the face of ailing health, Callie had boarded a train and now needed to make her way back home to Michigan. She’d made the same trip many times before, yet this time it was clear to Callie it would be her last.

That’s when she met Blaine. The young, agitated woman appeared to be seeking an escape which inspired Callie to remember her own struggles in life and love. Had their lives merged for a reason? They had a train ride from Chicago to Lapeer to find out.

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My Thoughts:

Just a Train Ride is a wonderful read. It’s not high suspense or a soul stopping read. But it is a please keep reading as you just can’t leave the characters behind type of reading.

I loved meeting Callie and learning her story. The bits of flashback has to be my favorite parts. My husband and I reenact WWII and the life of the women has always appealed to me. They were left to keep everything running and then when the men came back everyone thought everything would go back to normal. Only it didn’t. Not for any of them. The women weren’t sure what their role was anymore and the men came back changed.

Women had two choices. They could either stay with their men and love them or they could go back on their word. So many did choose to go back on their word and not marry the men who came home. This in itself probably caused a lot of deaths. It was such a time when PTSD wasn’t a thing yet and those that suffered did so in silence. Many times the only person aware was the wife.

But now that I’ve tangented off of the book let’s go back to the book!

Blaine is quite the character. It’s a wonder you can have two totally different characters in the same book. It was clear to me from the beginning that Callie is suffering a heart attack. I really just wanted to smack Blaine for how she treated the sweet old woman though. Thankfully she does return to help her on the train at least.

I loved watching Blaine have her heart change in this book and can’t wait to continue her story so I’m hoping that another book is coming! Definitely a good read and one I recommend. This is a book I wouldn’t mind keeping on my shelf.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

About the Author

Raised in Michigan, Author Elizabeth Wehman loves to incorporate cities in the state for her inspirational fiction. Famous Michigan flowers adorn the back covers of her books from peonies to lilacs and apple blossoms. Her first novel, “Under the Windowsill,” reflects the tranquility and hidden treasures of Mackinac Island for a much-needed hideaway for Kenna, a young girl raised in Iowa.

This coming-of-age story uses the growing pains of a quiet, country girl to reflect the dangers and unknowns of breaking away from family and security. From the frustrations of trying to make it alone, Kenna’s experience cements a permanent trust of the goodness of her past and a true hope for the future.

Elizabeth’s second novel reflects the tumultuous relationship between sisters in “Promise at Daybreak.” Two elderly sisters are forced together by an illness which leads them to fulfill a pact they made at their mother’s grave. The story reflects the storms of dealing with dementia and the results of fulfilling a promise, despite its drawbacks. The setting for this novel is Elizabeth’s hometown, Durand complete with its historic depot and the thunderous noises of a train town. Both novel settings share historical and distinctive aspects of both Michigan cities.

Elizabeth’s third novel released the summer of 2017, and will be entitled, “Just a Train Ride.”

All of her novels are clean reads, with a clear inspirational message for her readers. Elizabeth’s home is in Owosso.

You can find more about Elizabeth at www.elizabethwehman.com or on her Facebook page – Elizabeth Wehman/Author.

More from Elizabeth

Just a Train Ride is a fictional version of my parent’s love story from the 1940s. My father fought in WWII and he returned from his fighting experience after having a nervous breakdown.

He suffered repercussions of that throughout his entire life. My mother sent off a different man than the one who returned home to her, but she was faithful to her promise to marry him.

Their story and his experiences were a private matter, so I waited until after his death to write their story. Some of it is based on facts, other parts are just my imagination…filling in the details.

I included the train ride as a major part, due to the fact that my mother had gone on a train to see my father just before he shipped off to war. My main purpose in writing JATR was to show how you can be faithful in marriage, despite the setbacks, sorrow, and fateful events that can ravage even the best of marriages. This is my third inspirational novel.