Hana-Lani

By: Christine Sunderland

 My Review:

Christine Sunderland, author of “Hana-Lani”, has succeeded in writing a beautiful and meaningful story that shows readers how the intersection of 4 characters  can make such a profound difference in each of their lives.

Old Nani is a patriarch of sorts and has stayed in Hana Lani with her family home to make sure their name and history in the area stays in tack. Henry, her grandson, has come to live with her after the death of his wife; bringing along his 6 yr old daughter Lucy.  Henry is very grief stricken and can’t seem to climb out of the depression – causing him to not notice the needs of his hearing impaired daughter or the declining health of his mother.  He and his deceased wife – both professors – had been working on collaborative paper together and Henry pours himself into finishing this paper; and also his grief.

Enter Meredith Campbell – a beautiful woman that is used to living a life of rich men, the high life and self indulgence at its finest. When she loses her high power job and also her boyfriend, she decides to fly to Maui to get away from it all.  On her way, her plane crashes near Hana Lani and Old Nani takes her in and nurse her back to health.

As Meredith lives in their home, she learns lessons about giving and receiving help and what it means to be thankful. As the story progresses, she becomes someone very important to both Lucy and Henry; and vice versa.

My motto is, “everything happens for a reason” – and I think it pertains to so many sections of a persons life.  It can be used to explain the death of someone close to you, a debilitating disease, or even the loss of love. Everyone and everything has a purpose in your life.  In this story you find the meaning behind why these 4 lives intersect. Loved it!

About the Author:

Christine Thomas Sunderland (1947-), the daughter of a Presbyterian pastor, grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and came of age in the tumultuous Vietnam war years. Her inspirational novels, set in the present day, reflect the larger questions of our world today: What is civilization? Why is our past important? How do we understand where we are going? She is also fascinated with the interaction of matter and spirit. Her trilogy explores the legacy of Western European culture: Pilgrimage (OakTara, 2007), tells of a mother’s search for healing of body and soul in Italy; Offerings (OakTara, 2009) tells of a redemptive journey through France (Bronze Medal winner in the Independent Publisher Book Awards 2010); Inheritance (OakTara 2009) tells of a life-saving trip through England. A fourth novel, Hana-lani (OakTara 2010), set in Hana, Maui, is a love story about the role of family in American culture. She is currently working on a mystery about Mary Magdalene set in Rome and Provence.

Christine is Vice-President of the American Church Union, the publishing house of the Anglican Province of Christ the King. She has written numerous publications for children, including the Jeanette Series, novellas set in France and San Francisco, 8+, and has edited the Anglican Confirmation Manual and The American Church Union Church School Series (http://www.Anglicanpck.org). She lives in Northern California with her husband and two incredible cats.

Visit Christine’s website at www.ChristineSunderland.com , Preview the book or visit her travel blog at http://mytravels.ChristineSunderland.com.