Title: Goin’ Home
Author: Phyllis Staton Campbell
Publisher: Goldtouch Press, LLC
ISBN: 1952155347
Pages: 190
Genre: Small Town & Rural Fiction
Reviewed by: Liz Konkel
Pacific Book Review
Amy and her pastor husband are at the heart of a close-knitted community where they help the various townsfolk with their problems and celebrate their successes. Their community is still healing from a storm when they receive a visit from two of their neighbors who bring with them a heart heavy plea. A murderer is being released after fifty years spent in prison and is going to live the rest of his days with the sister. His release has created an emotional upheaval for Sam and his family. Tension forms within the town putting Amy and Jim directly into the middle as they explore forgiveness and the trials it presents as they struggle to lend comfort to a couple struggling with their son’s brain surgery, the loss of a beloved dog, and a shocking family secret that rocks Amy’s own family and relationship.
An enticing prologue sets the tone for the story through the release of prisoner Robert Thomas which puts this pleasant town on edge, and for one family, it sends them back into their pain, anger, and mourning. Through Amy, Jim, and their community, you receive different perspectives on Robert’s release and see a genuine impact this has on the community as they face distrust, tension, and crisis. Robert’s release serves as the catalyst for events that follow with author Phyllis Staton Campbell exploring the themes of freedom and second chances, loss and forgiveness, with the last being the heart of the story. Forgiveness is an often-difficult thing to master, whether it’s forgiving yourself or someone who wronged you, and Campbell explores both through Robert and the question of if he should forgive himself, and Sam and whether he should forgive Robert.
Through Sam the story touches upon the grief and anger of someone who lost a loved one at the hands of someone else. Campbell doesn’t hold back delving into these complex topics and calling out the weighted topic and hardship of forgiveness. The story has an underlying plot of loss and mourning which is seen through each of the characters, and reflected through the community as the town is in the midst of recovering from a storm when the story begins. Amy and Jim have an important role in the community as they lend their prayers and comfort to their neighbors which provides the story with a variety of subplots: a couple facing their son getting surgery and a neighbor grieving the loss of a dog. A shock rattles Amy’s own family when she and Jim learn of a shocking secret which pushes Jim towards his own path of forgiveness. The strength of their relationship is what holds them together and what keeps the community on its feet as Amy works to hold everyone up. Campbell weaves in various humorous moments stemmed from misunderstandings, interactions, and clever dialogue.
The perspective of Amy and her husband sets the tone of the story as one of faith and understanding, with their role in the town and their compassion they provide creating the heart of the community. Their two genuine characters reach out to their neighbors to lend their help and see them through rough times by the use of their faith. The setting of the community is a key element to the story as you see the townsfolk banding together to recover from devastation and see the shakeup by the arrival of Robert into their safe place of comfort and peace known by the name of Pleasantville.
Goin’ Home is a genuine tale of a small town and a community as the characters face the strength of their bonds, loss and mourning, faith, forgiveness, secrets, understanding, and second chances.
