Lisa Lickel's Meander Scar ~ Reviewed

Meander Scar
By Lisa J. Lickel
Black Lyon Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-934912-23-2


Review by Michelle Griep


After seven years with no clue as to the whereabouts of Ann Ballard’s missing husband, nearly everyone presumes him dead. Now forty-something, Ann is ready for her stagnant life to flow again. Then one day, a dark-haired younger man from her past shows up on her doorstep offering a river of hope in place of tears.

Former neighbor Mark Roth has secretly loved Ann for years. A respected attorney, he’s returned home to help Ann face down disapproving family members and the legal maneuvering of her likely deceased husband’s family—while quietly winning her heart.

When the hidden truth of Ann’s situation turns their lives on end and another tragedy strikes, the two must come to terms with family, faith and the depths to which true love can run.

Meander Scar, besides being an intriguing title, is quite the metaphor for the curve balls life often throws our way. A meander scar is basically the path water takes when confronted with a barrier so that it must split or bend, but then reunites to form a straight course. Author Lisa Lickel weaves a story that shows how hurt and healing frequently intersect.

The main issue tackled in this book is the appropriateness of love and romance between an older woman and a younger man. I had no idea the stigma such a relationship could create. Because of the experiences of the main characters, Ann and Mark, I have a new understanding and compassion towards a situation I’d never even thought about.

I mostly related to Ann, which is kind of a given being that I’m a woman. But besides that, heroine Ann suffers from debilitating migraines. Lickel accurately portrays the symptoms and just how interrupting headaches can be to one’s life.

Meander Scar is not a light-hearted read. It’s a hard hitting drama that will make you think, and a fine addition to the Black Lyon contemporary romance line.