The book you can’t put down, In An Instant, begins within the days of ‘everyday life’ for the Miller Family. They’ve planned an annual get-away to the mountains, including friends, mature and youthful. A blizzard isn’t going to keep them in the cabin. A car crash on a snowy mountain side changes everyone’s future.
To Come of Age At The End! Is That Fair?
Life ends ‘in an instant’ for 16 yr old Finn Miller in that crash. The devastating van crash tumbles her and ten other people over the snowy side of a mountain. The passengers include her family, her teen friend and another family — longtime friends and honorary family. Suspended between worlds, Finn watches, without being able to help, as the people she loves struggle to survive that day and the future.
Incredible choices are made; decisions that torment the survivors with grief, regret and guilt. Unable to move on, Finn keeps watch as they struggle to survive that night and the days ahead for their shattered lives. Some sense her presence and find it a comfort and encouragement to keep on. Others are not able to deal with that sense of Finn being close to them, trying to communicate.
The ‘blurb’ says, “Heartrending, yet ultimately redemptive, In an Instant is a story about the power of love, the meaning of family and carrying on…even when it seems impossible.”
A Real “Page-Turner!”
I found this book dramatically jarring. The story isn’t categorized as ‘thriller’, but the readers’ heart rate and Adrenalin levels will surely be affected. The first few pages had me gritting my teeth over some characters and falling hard for others. As the story progressed and each character began to show his or her true colors, my opinion matured and changed…page by page.
Finn was definitely a winning character. She could make me cry, laugh and smile, sometimes all at the same time. Young Finn was with each one of her loved family and friends through it all. She was surprised and saddened by the crass failures, uplifted by the bravery of recovery by others, deeply understanding and supportive of any loss.
I had read this amazing story straight through, weeping and laughing through to disgust for the creepy, selfish, spineless characters, wondering, “how could they do that?” THEN, I read the author’s comments. This book is fiction; it is easy to judge the characters and not let it truly touch myself. When Ms. Redfearn told a chilling tale of an incident from her childhood which inspired the book, In an Instant, the perspective changed! My heart broke for her and her brother that they were subjected to their experiences when they should have been protected. These children could easily have been treated the same as others without permanent injury to body and psyche. It wouldn’t have taken much and shouldn’t have taken ANYTHING!
An Author to Watch!
Author Susanne Redfearn has been named Literary Laureate of Laguna Beach, CA where she makes her home with her husband after living on the east coast until a teen. Readers can learn more about her at her WEBSITE. Look for some interesting bits and pieces about an inventor, mother, restaurateur, and much more, who didn’t grow up planning to write novels! However, she has written several and has a new book coming in 2021. An author to watch!
