SCOTT GULLEDGE / Scroll

Author tackles love, politics

Lindsay Law LAW05002@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

Dean Hughes’ book So Much of Life Ahead is a conclusion to the previous Hearts of the Children series, an extension of the Children of the Promise series.  The plot surrounds the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal.

Hughes focuses on the love lives of the characters Kathy, Diane, Gene and Hans.

Kathy is home from the Peace Corps.  After a rocky road and abandoning the gospel, she has found her way back to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Now, 26 years old and not married, she is looking for love, but her high school love is engaged to another woman.  

Diane is recovering from a difficult divorce, in which her husband physically abused her.  As a young divorced mother, the dating scene is not promising, but she goes back to college hoping to salvage her life and support her daughter.

Gene served in the Vietnam War where he was shot and wounded. Though the recovery from the wound is progressing, Gene’s emotional healing from what he witnessed in the war is not as quick. His anger and emotional battle are destroying his life and family.

Hans still lives in the German Democratic Republic. After an attempt to escape the country, the Stasi will not relent. They keep a careful eye on his movements and life. Hans barely makes a living to support himself, but his girlfriend, Elli insists on getting married.  

Hughes’ moral lesson is direct: even though all may fall apart and fade away, the Lord sends His blessings. In this book, Hughes takes a family, places them in a time when the world faces anguish, and binds them together through faith in and love of the Lord.

This book does seem slow at times and Hughes comes across as repetitive. Perhaps he should have ended the series at the fourth book instead of continuing on to establish a “happily ever after” ending. He also tends to throw in historical facts that lack the quality of his previous novels.

This book with a satisfying happily-ever-after ending will satisfy all of the Children of the Promise fans.