The Remedy for Regret

Tess Longren is standing at the crossroads of her life. The single 28-year-old has a job she loves and a marriage proposal from a man she adores. So why doesn't she feel hope for the future? Will a trip to her hometown bring contentment? A powerful story about finding courage to transform painful situations. 325 pages, softcover from Harvest.

Tess Longren is 28, single, and at a crossroads in her life.  She finally has a job she enjoys as well as a proposal of marriage from a man she loves, but Tess can’t seem to grasp a future filled with promise and hope.  Her mother’s long ago death remains a constant, though subtle ache that Tess can’t seem to move past. When childhood friend, Blair Holbrook, asks Tess to accompany her to their childhood home to resolve a situation left unsettled fifteen years ago, Tess falsely imagines that by helping her friend find peace, she will find contentment for herself.

A wonderful follow–up to the author’s earlier novels, Why the Sky Is Blue and A Window to the World.

Meissner's third novel follows protagonist Tess Longren on a meandering journey of self-discovery, during which she grapples with her enduring anguish over her mother's death. While the novel offers emotionally believable moments as well as a largely unobjectionable plot, it suffers from a sluggish prose style that often states the obvious. Narrator Tess's observations about her life frequently devolve into a combination of cataloguing and free-associating her experiences, and this rambling, coupled with frequent mentions of people and events that have little or no bearing on the events of the novel, make the book feel padded. While there are some well-written characters, such as Tess's distant father and her surrogate-mother neighbor, many of the novel's events meant to pack an emotional punch fail to do so. The novel is readable if not deeply involving, and it refrains from the high melodrama present in many contemporary Christian novels for women. (July) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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Reviewed by Michelle (Arizona), April 14, 2006

When I started reading the story, the characterization of Tess intrigued me. She was living with a man and not married to him. I thought, "Wonder how the author pulled that off..." in regards to taboo subjects. My conclusion? The author did a wonderful job. The heroine was away from the hero, though still in communication with him, throughout the story as she traveled to find herself and remedy her regret. I was thoroughly impressed with how the author dealt with numerous issues. Abandonment, guilt, self-blame, shame, step-families, unspoken accusation, supportive friendship and unconditional love that led the heroine to a saving knowledge of Jesus and faith in God. The Christians in the story ministered to Tess in a way she could understand. They tuned into her need, spoke when the timing was right, confronted situations as appropriate, and loved her without expectations. I was also impressed with the realism in the story. Pain doesn't heal in an instant. People don't always accept our offer of forgiveness. Time doesn't always heal all wounds. Absolutely beautifully written. This is a novel that has made my life richer. From this point forward Susan Meissner is an author I'm putting on my list of "must-reads." I highly recommend The Remedy for Regret.

Reviewed by Jeanne Damoff (Marshall, Texas), October 26, 2005

As the title suggests, the heroine of Susan’s book is looking for a remedy to a regret she’s carried all her life—a heart burden that has crippled her emotionally and sideswiped her attempts at intimacy. And Tess Longren is not the only one searching for answers. As she, her fiancé, and a childhood friend each embark on individual quests to right past wrongs, Tess makes an important discovery. Before she can find the remedy, she must uncover the truth about her regrets. Susan does a great job of creating characters who deal with issues we all face: guilt over past choices and their consequences, learning what we can change and what we can’t, and trusting God to take care of things beyond our control. When I closed the last page, I had tears in my eyes and a sense that I’d been on a journey of discovery, too.

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