I believe I've said it before, but two things you can count on when reading a Chris Fabry novel are quality prose and anything but ordinary storylines. Every Waking Moment by Chris Fabry, published by Tyndale Fiction, keeps to those standards.
Treha Langsam has no memory of a mom and dad or little else to do with her childhood. She "borrows" histories from the residents of Desert Gardens, the combination assisted-living and nursing home where she's employed, because she has no sense of family. Her eyes are constantly on the move, back and forth, her body weaves and her fingers type, and most people outside of the facility are spooked by her odd looks. In spite of her quirks, the community at Desert Gardens has come to love her because she has the rare gift of making them feel valuable, drawing them out of the prison-like shells sometimes created as a result of their aging, and genuinely caring about their lives before and after residing at Desert Gardens. Her ability to communicate by simple touch and listening amazes staff and relatives alike.
Until Miriam Howard, the director of the facility, and the one who discovered Treha's rare gift, is replaced and forced into retirement, Treha works carefully and diligently, making true friends with all who know her. Miriam's replacement is the Nurse Ratched of Desert Gardens and Treha is quickly and cruelly disposed of as are two young undiscovered documentarians who have been allowed to film the residents telling their stories because one of them passionately believes in the power of their remembrances to connect people.
Resident Dr. Jim Crenshaw takes particular interest in Treha, fascinated how her mind can solve word puzzles without seeing them among other high-functioning quizzes. How this plays out at the end of the story is perfect. Miriam Howard can't stay away from Treha once she steps down from her job and Treha is terminated. A complex series of associations between Miriam, Treha, and the two young men cause the making of the documentary to turn up information which might lead to solving the mystery of Treha's past.
Underneath all the engaging plot points of this story is the unique loneliness of an unusual heroine who seems unable to show emotion while having the incredible ability to inspire it in others. She's intelligent and perceptive but blunt and without much expression, wondering if she will ever be any closer to finding out who she is and if there's any way she can be "fixed".
In Chapter 26 we get a brief glimpse of how Treha thinks from a recurring dream:
Her mother came to her, or a woman she supposed was her mother, and took her by the hand, sunlight silhouetting her face and brown hair curling. She was thin, and Treha liked this because it made her think she would not have to be fat all of her life and that one day someone would see her as something other than damaged.
The characters in Every Waking Moment conjure up all kinds of reactions. Miriam loved her job and the residents at Desert Garden and has motherly concerns for Treha, but she's an unhappy wife and has little appreciation for her husband Charlie who we primarily see through Miriam's eyes. Devin and Joshua, the two young men making the film, are the inspired impractical dreamer and the glass-half-empty sardonic comedian. The reader feels the conflict wearing on Dr. Crenshaw's soul, and a fondness develops for the at first bizarre character and distant colleague of Dr. Crenshaw, Mr. Davidson.
Treha leads a strange life with a lot of missing pieces and sometimes her lack of emotion makes her feel distant and even annoying, but her determination to find a way to "fix" herself gives her an admirable dimension and demands compassion.
Faith plays a part in this story, running like a pretty but plain ribbon around a package, and surviving like a reliable cane or walking stick.
Chris brings so many facets of the story together and wraps it up with one of his classic somewhat unresolved but hopeful endings. Ultimately it's about accepting life and finding purpose in the most dismal, challenging, or boring of circumstances. It's about contentment. He's an artist with words and composes irregular characters in complex unusual situations. If you're looking for something that includes some not unfamiliar plot points but told with an original and interesting cast of characters, experience Every Waking Moment. Full of clever and meaningful "connections" between all kinds of different people, it's a story that will linger after reading The End.
Father, you know Chris and all the details of the things his family has faced. I pray healing upon each one and ask for your blessing and comfort to him and to his family. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.