A novel written by Christy award-winner Chris Fabry, Almost Heaven is based on the true story of musician and radio host, Billy Allman. No one expected anything good to come from Dogwood, West Virginia, and definitely not a bluegrass Christian radio station.
Life taught Billy to expect the worst. Alone as a young man, Billy now must deal with the death of his brother, his fathers suicide, and his mothers decline into insanity. Abused, manipulated and weary, he copes by burying his pain deep inside. Barely clinging to his faith, his only constant, Billy desperately tries to make something significant of his life. He pursues his dream of building a radio station that speaks to the hearts of people like him. But Billy must first wrestle with the buried guilt of his past before things finally can harmonize. Billys story is partly told by Michael, his guardian angel. Humans are a mystery to Michael, especially this seemingly insignificant one. As he compares Billys limited view of eternity to his own, Michael asks what it means genuinely and full-out to trust God.
Almost Heaven fills 309 pages with a beautifully poignant tale. This book features characters from Chris Fabrys previous novels, Dogwood and June Bug. Fabry writes with a clean-cut style and offers brilliantly vivid descriptions. From his personal broadcast experience with Moody Radio, Fabry brings the story to life with well-placed details.
I highly recommend Almost Heaven. Great for music lovers or non-musicians, all readers easily will connect with the characters and issues portrayed. Intellectually deep, Almost Heaven ponders the hard questions of life. Estee B. Wells, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com
