The Only Best Place: A Novel

Carolyne Aarsen
Faithwords (2006)
ISBN 0446696811
Reviewed by Kristina Patton for Reader Views (9/06)

In today’s society, any mention of God, faith, or Bible passages is seen as taboo or politically incorrect. But, in Carolyn Aarsen’s “The Only Best Place”, one woman who used to think that way is suddenly believing in something outside of her realm.

Leslie Vandekeere finds herself relocating by force. This new community, a farming community, is extremely different from the hustle and bustle of her life in Seattle. While trying to find some normalcy in her new life, Leslie is constantly looking to the future when she and her family can go back to Seattle. When Leslie finally lets go and begins to appreciate her surroundings, she begins an amazing transformation of character. Instead of looking to the future, she begins to take her husband’s words into consideration, “We don’t know how long anything lasts, but have learned to appreciate each day we have together.”

Aarsen’s characters are realistic and true to everyday life. There are many ways that people could identify with the main character; being a working mother, being in a marriage that is hanging on by a thread, and dealing with a meddling mother-in-law. I’m positive that there are people out there who can identify with the struggle for  truth, the struggle for what is real and what to believe. Leslie’s transition is so smooth and believable, like it could happen to anyone.

A common cliché comes to mind after reading this book: When you hit rock bottom you can only go up. In order to get to a comfortable place in her life, Leslie had to realize that she would have to give her troubles to a God she didn’t know. As she learns new ways to “let go”, she learns a new way to live and love life.

Carolyne Aarsen does a wonderful job at portraying most women’s fears: losing her family, her children, her dreams, and most importantly a fear of losing her identity to the one thing she knows nothing about….faith.    

Aarsen transforms a woman who believes she is losing her life as she knows it, to a woman who comes to terms with the fact that dreams can change. As a woman who sometimes, uncharacteristically, doubts my own faith and my own future, I have learned that this book is meant to be a lesson in life. A lesson that will show any woman that there is always hope and there is a bright side to every situation. Through a new family, a new community, and new beliefs, Aarsen has taught me that, with a little faith, God will provide. The only thing that I ask is that He provide Ms. Aarsen with a swift pen……I need the next book!

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