I began reading Family Matters, a story about divorced parents, Michael and Jennie, who each love their eight-year-old son (Cody) more than life itself.

Living with his mother one week and his father the next, Cody endured his parents' divorce, made easier by their mutual desire to shelter him from the worst of it. 

Suddenly, one night while staying at his father's, Cody becomes sick - not with a flu or minor ailment but a life-threatening condition which changes everything.

As Cody hangs in the balance between life and death, through flashback, I learn about the bitter relationship his parents had shared leading up to the divorce when Cody was only four. I felt as if I was given an inside look into the pain his parents inflicted upon each other. 

Family Matters is a richly told story which weaves together the lives of this once-upon-a-time family and the people around them, new and old, who make an impact upon their lives.

There are so many pearls of wisdom shared within the pages of Family Matters that it's impossible not to learn something; you will come away feeling richer as a person, more tolerant of those around you, more willing to fight for something which means the world to you as opposed to throwing it away or letting opportunities pass you by.

The book is considered to be of a Christian fiction nature but there is nothing preachy about Family Matters. It is a touching story to read; in fact, I started reading it during lunch hour, stayed up half the night to read more and finished it during lunch hour the following day.

Family Matters is definitely a gripping story and, while you won't need a box of tissues at your side, you'll find yourself choking with emotion during some of the powerful scenes in this book by Deborah Bedford.

If you would like to learn more about this story, please visit Family Matter's page on Amazon.