The Faded Flower

By Paul McCusker

Funny, the difference a few hours can make. At 4:30 P.M., Frank Reynolds still has a sense of accomplishment and control. By five o'clock, he's lost his job of twenty-two years. By six o'clock, he's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0310235545
• ISBN13: 9780310235545
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 0.8" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Depth and Humor

Frank Reynolds' well-organized world comes crashing down in a day. His schedule at the Bradley Publishing Company, up until 4:45 PM that day, is routine. He has worked for the company twenty-two years and pictures the rest of his career at the same office. His boss calls him in and explains that the publishing house who bought them out, despite their promises, is laying Frank off. When Frank arrives home, his worries about how to share this news with his wife, Colleen, are sidetracked by a letter from Aunt Minnie. Frank's father, Pap, has Alzheimers. Aunt Minnie wants them to come down for Pap's birthday and convince him to move to The Faded Flower nursing home. These events set Frank, Colleen and their two children, Greg and Vicki, for a life change none of them would have imagined. Frank is forced to either accept God's control over circumstances or to focus his bitterness toward God isolating himself from his family. Paul McCusker uses an interesting choice of voice in The Faded Flower. The book begins more objectively in third person. The last third of the book, however, switches to first person allowing greater understanding into the heart of Frank who narrarates it. Although the book deals with serious, lifelike situations, McCusker weaves humor throughout making the novella enjoyable to read and the characters realistic and enduring. McCusker is the executive producer of Focus on the Family radio drama, which includes Adventures In Odyssey. He lives in Colorado Springs, CO with his wife and two children. His radio drama on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a WWII pastor, has won the coveted Peabody Award...