Sarah

In Tim McDonald's quietly moving celebratory novel, widowed "Doc" is attracted to Emma from a distance not because she is the moral and physical opposite of his late wife Molly, but because she so strikingly resembles her. Doc has acceded to his lonely state of being, assuming, in his 60s, that he has had the love of his life and that all he will have to sustain him from now on are his memories. But the woman he meets and begins to know and fall in love with, who so strongly evokes the charm and tenacity and dignity of his late wife, while inspiring revered memories of Molly, which are tenderly explored in the novel, also assumes a stature and importance of her own, wholly independent of any reference to any other person.

"Sarah" is a quietly moving romance that dives into the complexities of love and loss. In this story, widowed Doc is attracted to Emma not because she is the moral and physical opposite of his late wife Molly, but because she so strikingly resembles her. Doc has acceded to his lonely state of being, assuming, in his 60s, that he has had the love of his life and that all he will have to sustain him from now on are his memories. But the woman he meets and begins to know and fall in love with, also assumes a stature and importance of her own, wholly independent of any reference to any other person. The result is not gothic melodrama – but a leisurely, patient, very human chronicle of how the human heart responds to grace and the offering of tenderness and communion. This a lovely, quiet, calmly-paced book, as soothing and uplifting and sustained in reverence as the experience of falling in love and continuing in love should be. It is haunting, but in the best, never the meanest, of ways.

Tim McDonald was raised in a small midwestern city. Growing up, baseball was his love. He loved watching Saturday afternoon games with his grandfather. He was educated in southern Indiana and taught high school for many years. Tim went on to earn his Doctorate later in life and is an adjunct professor at a small local college. Before he settled down to teach, he had numerous jobs in business traveling all over the world. He began to write stories of his exploits and wrote and published a book about his experience as a principal in an international school in Hong Kong. Which was the inspiration for his first book "Water Torture: A Hoosier in Hong Kong". Tim was also a columnist for several years for a local newspaper. Writing allows him to use his creative mind and imagination. One heartfelt column about his mother's battle with Alzheimer's touched many of his readers, a subject that many have had to deal with. Tim also connected with his students, using humor and compassion helping them see their future in the world.