View source for I'll Meet You In Heaven by Jill Thrussell

{{infobox1
|title=I'll Meet You In Heaven
|author=Jill Thrussell
|reviewer=Ani Johnson
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=This is a story of love, loss and new beginnings stylistically reminiscent of Mills and Boon while serving a deeper purpose.  Regarding deeper purposes, there is a mention of God but that's a red herring so not a concern for the religion-averse. Jill Thrussell popped into Bookbag Towers to [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Jill Thrussell|chat to us]].
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=118
|publisher=Uziel Productions
|date=July 2015
|isbn=978-0957113282
|website=http://www.jillthrussell.co.uk/
|cover=0957113285
|aznuk=0957113285
|aznus=0957113285
}}

Rebecca and Gideon were made for each other.  They've been married for 10 years and, apart from their unfulfilled desire for children, all is perfect, love remaining at the centre of their relationship.  Well, all was perfect until their 10th anniversary dinner and that fatal car crash.  The next thing they know, they arrive in a garden to be told that they'll be sent back to Earth for 3 months to live separately as a test.  Why?  More importantly, would they be able to find each other again afterwards?

Expediency dictated that [[:Category:Jill Thrussell|Jill Thrussell]] became an accountant but expediency doesn't always fulfil dreams.  In Jill's case it did its best till 2011; that was when Jill returned to her first love - writing.  Since then she's made up for lost time, having been prolific in the fields of novels and film scripts in between motivational speaking and charity involvement.  That's quite a CV that's modestly missing from her book blurb, but there's quite a lot that's not.

Indeed, please try not to read the book blurb, firstly because it hints of a faith-based premise to the book that's swiftly disposed of in the story and secondly, like a lot of book blurbs, it's a spoiler for practically the entire novella.  Instead, waste no time; dive straight into the first chapter.

There we find the story of a perfect love match told in the first person by Rebecca which makes it interesting.  She sees it all through rosy love glasses while allowing us to see the person behind Gideon's gorgeous hunky frontage: drinking too much before getting behind the steering wheel (irresponsible), not wanting Rebecca to work full time or earn as much as him in case she 'worries about money' (controlling) and so on.

Another interesting thing is that, although the idea of God in the story is ousted early on (no spoilers!) Jill shows her Christian roots as, every now and again, a word or two drops in from the spiritual side of her life.  Rebecca ''accepted their provision'' when her parents bought her a car, for instance, and a couple of times meals are described as ''offerings''.  This adds to the impression of Rebecca's naiveté and how much she had been sheltered by first her parents and then Gideon.

This isn't a story of faith-based notions though.  There's another purpose behind it: a sharing of the stages of bereavement, hope and that proverbial, non-celestial light at the end of the tunnel.

Jill has researched well, causing many women to identify with Rebecca's journey through grief.  The way in which Rebecca longs for bedtime and sleep as this is the only time she can be with Gideon through dreams is particularly potent.

We also encounter the experience of Samaria, one of the women who help Rebecca.  As an older lady, Samaria provides insight into the feelings around widowhood that may occur later in life.

There's a slight stilting caused by the extensive use of reported speech where perhaps dialogue would have been more natural.  However it feels churlish to mention this as those who enjoy romance a la Mills and Boon and have suffered a recent loss may, in its pages, find comfort and a freedom to mourn.  The message is the thing and the message is a precious one:  life will definitely be different from now on, but life will definitely go on.

(Thank you to the author for providing us with a copy for review.)

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