In “The One You Fight For
Readers meet Shaw Miller, brother of Joseph Miller, the shooter. He might not have pulled the trigger, but he had to hide who he was because of his sibling’s notoriety.
And there is Taryn Landry, a student at Long Acre when the shooting happened. She survived, but her younger sister did not.
Fate connected Shaw and Taryn, though they did not know it at that time. Both lost a sibling, both are survivors of the school shooting, but they were coming from the opposite sides.
And by a twist of fate, they met and fell in love! Can their love survive? Do they even have a happily ever after?
To quote Entertainment Weekly, “The Ones Who Got Away” series is “a crackling, heartfelt love story.” This statement describes “The One You Fight For
On a personal note, this book reminded me of the 2016 shooting of Dallas Police Officers. One of the officers who was killed attended the church I go to. So, though I did not know him personally, our congregation was very much affected.
Everyday, for almost a month, Father Jonathan Austin, the priest at St. Jude Chapel will light 5 candles, one each for the police officers who were killed, 8 candles for those who were injured, one candle for all the family members that had been affected and one candle for the shooter.
Explaining on the pulpit why he also lit a candle for the shooter, Fr. Jonathan said, “He needs our prayers, too.”
Not to sound religious, but I agree with Father Jonathan. Everyone needs our prayers – the victims, the perpetrators and their families.
Going back to the book, author Roni Loren once again touched my heart and chances are, I am not alone in feeling that way. By creating the character of Shaw Miller, Loren showed that Joseph Miller, the shooter did not exist in a vacuum. He was a son and a brother, a member of a family unit. Joseph’s victims were not only the people who died. His own family suffered because of what he did.
Loren opened our eyes on how families deal with tragedies such as this. Another book came to mind when I was writing this review. “Ask Him Why” by Catherine Hyde tells the story of how a family coped while the event was still in the headlines and beyond.
“The One You Fight For
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The One You Fight For
Author: Roni Loren
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Pub Date: 01 Jan 2019
How hard would you fight for the one you love?
Taryn Landry was there that awful night fourteen years ago when Long Acre changed from the name of a town to the title of a national tragedy. Everyone knows she lost her younger sister. No one knows it was her fault. Since then, psychology professor Taryn has dedicated her life’s work to preventing something like that from ever happening again. Falling in love was never part of the plan…
Shaw Miller has spent more than a decade dealing with the fallout of his brother’s horrific actions. After losing everything—his chance at Olympic gold, his family, almost his sanity—he’s changed his name, his look, and he’s finally starting a new life. As long as he keeps a low profile and his identity secret, everything will be okay, right?
When the world and everyone you know defines you by one catastrophic tragedy…
How do you find your happy ending?
[Photos: Girl singing Photo by Mean Shadows; Rock climber Photo by Roya Ann Miller; all on Unsplash; Austin skyline photo by Pixabay]
