The Mercy Tree: A Novel

by Sharlene MacLaren

Publisher:

Whitaker House

, 2023

It’s 1955, when scandalous affairs are never talked about, divorce is rare, a wife is a “homemaker” more often than not, and every Christian home displays its family Bible front and center. Certainly, a well-respected pastor in the conservative city of Muskegon, Michigan, would never be caught in the middle of a heinous secret that could ruin his career and break up his beautiful marriage and family. Or would he?

When Henry Griffin was stationed in occupied Japan in the mid-1940s, he met Rina Hamada, a Japanese woman who fell head over heels for him. Despite having a young wife and baby daughter waiting at home in the States, Henry had too much to drink one night, and one thing led to another… He knew it was wrong. He struggled with guilt and expressed his resistance, but she professed her love and continued to pursue him.

Now, ten years later, a letter from Japan arrives and threatens to upend Henry’s world. What to do and how to tell his wife are just the beginning of his troubles. Tough questions about faith, redemption, and preserving his reputation bring us here, under the shade of The Mercy Tree.

Product Details

• Title: The Mercy Tree: A Novel
• Author: Sharlene MacLaren
• Publisher: Whitaker House
• Print Publication Date: 2023
• Logos Release Date: 2022
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781641239578, 9781641239561, 1641239565, 1641239573
• Resource ID: LLS:9781641239578
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2023-12-02T02:52:56Z

About Sharlene MacLaren

Born and raised in west Michigan, Sharlene MacLaren attended Spring Arbor University. Upon graduating with an education degree in 1971, she taught second grade for two years, then accepted an invitation to travel internationally for a year with a singing ensemble. After traveling for a year, she returned to her teaching job, then in 1975, she reunited with her childhood sweetheart, and they married that very December. They have raised two lovely daughters, both of whom are now happily married and enjoying their own families. Retired in 2003 after thirty-one years of teaching, Shar loves to read, sing, travel, and spend time with her family—in particular, her adorable grandchildren!
Shar has always enjoyed writing, and her high school classmates eagerly read and passed around her short stories. In the early 2000s, Shar felt God’s call upon her heart to take her writing pleasures a step further, so in 2006, she signed a contract with Whitaker House for her first faith-based novel, Through Every Storm, thereby launching her professional writing career. With more than twenty published novels now gracing store shelves and being sold online, Shar gives God all the glory.
Shar’s novels have won numerous awards. Most recently, Their Daring Hearts was named a 2018 Top Pick by Romantic Times and her last book, A Love to Behold, was voted “Book of the Year” in 2019 by Interviews & Reviews.
Shar has done numerous countrywide book signings and has participated in several interviews on television and radio. She loves to speak for community organizations, libraries, church groups, and women’s conferences. In her church, she is active in women’s ministries, regularly facilitating Bible studies and other events. Shar and her husband, Cecil, live in Spring Lake, Michigan, with their beautiful white collie, Peyton.
Shar loves hearing from her readers. If you wish to contact her as a potential speaker or would simply like to chat with her, please send her an e-mail at [e-mail]. She will do her best to answer in a timely manner.
Additional resources:
http://www.SharleneMacLaren.com
https://www.instagram.com/sharlenemaclaren
https://twitter.com/sharzy_lu?lang=en
https://www.facebook.com/groups/43124814557 (Sharlene MacLaren & Friends)
https://www.whitakerhouse.com/book-authors/sharlene-maclaren/