I loved this book and experienced a realm of emotions while reading it. The writing was beautiful and very atmospheric.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Favorite Quotes:

Every year—every year—I tell myself that it’s just a routine check… and that millions of women go through this without anything bad coming of it, but still … I sit in this room that’s clearly designed for optimism and calm, and it’s all I can do not to write an obituary in my mind.

Truly good men are as rare as rocking horse poo

“He’s not much of a talker, but he sure looks out for people.” A sad sort of envy hummed somewhere in the back of my mind. “You’re a very fortunate woman,” I said. “I know that now.” She laughed. “Didn’t always, mind you. But all these years later, when the frustrating stuff has settled into normal, it’s easier to see the treasure in the trash.”

“Pulled a Casper.” When I looked at her in confusion, she added, “Ghosted you. But not in a friendly way.”

When I was little and things would frustrate me, she’d tell me to give time the time it needs.


My Review:

This was an intensely emotive and heartrending tale that intertwined two narrations until they slowly and thoughtfully merged near the conclusion. The writing was staggeringly insightful and bruised my heart but I fell right into the shifting sands and curiously evocative and compelling nuances of both timelines, one a harrowing period in history and life-altering experiences for a young GI during WWII, and the other a distressing and devastating turn of events for a cancer survivor in modern times. Connected by a gossamer-thin thread being the vibrantly colorful and spirited character of Darlene, who was the relative of one and friend to the other, and who happened to be my favorite above all others. She was a colorful and spry little septuagenarian dynamo and what I aspire to be at any age.

Terrible things happened to good people in both soul-stirring narratives and I was engaged in their tale and as eager as the characters to unravel several maddening dead-end mysteries as well as the complicated connubial questions and issues in the current timeline. Their issues were often painfully raw, keenly plotted, and shrewdly paced while keeping the curiosity primed. Michele Phoenix is an agile and deft storyteller.

Fragments of Light
Infant,aby Michele Phoenix
Thomas Nelson--FICTION
Thomas Nelson
Women's Fiction
Pub Date 14 Jul 2020



I am reviewing a copy of Fragments of Light through Thomas Nelson Fiction and Netgalley:



Cancer took everything from Ceelie, it took her peace of mind, her self image and perhaps even her twenty three marriage to her College sweetheart Nate. If it hadn’t been for the support of Darlene, her elderly friend, she would have likely given up, and she certainly would not have been able to endure so much loss.




After Darlene’s own prognosis turns dire, Ceelie is unable to refuse the seemingly impossible request to find a World War 2 Paratrooper, the Father who disappeared when Darlene was an infant, and ended up leaving a lifetime of desolation in his wake.





Ceelie begins her search in the farmlands of Missouri and eventually she is led to a small town in Normandy, it is here she uncovers the harrowing tale of the hero who dropped off-target into occupied France.






Fragments of Light alternating between Carl’s D Day rescue by two French sisters, and Ceelie’s current journey through heartbreak and loss.




I give Fragments of Light five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

#Fragments of Light# by Michele Phoenix is a historical fiction book. This book is a masterpiece and so hard to put down. Michele grew up in France. She is an educator, writer and speaker. She taught for 20 years in Germany . The story is a time split between Cal who was a paratrooper on D day on June 6, 1944. and Cecile a breast cancer survivor 75 years later. The reader will feel like they have walked through the shoes of a D Day survivor after reading the book. The beginning of the book the reader will find Cal and the injuries of D Day. At the end of the book the veterans share their memories of D Day and the visitors go to a D Day exhibit. and demonstration and meet survivors in France. The story is so beautifully researched and written. Cal is a brave and determined character. Cecile goes through the trials of breast cancer in all its forms. She is brave and she endures so much loss and continues to move forward. It is wonderful to show the reader they too can be brave when they face difficulties. the author wants the reader to remember the sacrifices so many gave for our freedoms. The book is so hard to put down and an excellent read. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to the author , publisher, netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. I hope it is a huge success. I will post my review on facebook, Goodreads, bookbub, Barnes and Noble, cbd.com. , my blog.

“History’s stains illuminate the Future”

“Survivors deserve crosses too”

This is my first book from this author. I have to say, Michele Phoenix has written a beautiful yet heart wrenching story that you will not want to miss reading! Her writing style is quite memorizing. Fragments of Light is certainly a must read!
This is a WWII novel that is told in a duel timeline of present time and WWII time, a 75 year difference.
The title really fits the story....how can one find fragments of light through the tragedies of war? Of loss?
Fragments of Light is a intense and complex story. A beautiful historical fiction....

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and give my honest review about this book.

4.5 stars - A beautifully tragic, yet uplifting tale. We have so much we can and should learn from those wh0 went before us. "Let history's stains illuminate the future". This is a story of guilt and resentment - and bravery, honor, and commitment. All the trappings of human flaws and failings. Life came full circle in this story. What happened 75+ years ago has a lasting and profound impact and touches our lives still in so many ways. I just feel nostalgic and warm and awestruck after finishing this. There are lessons to be learned, and I just need to sit for a bit and absorb them all.

Oh yeah, I would be remiss if I did not include that I found the writing to be phenomenal!!

Cecelia Donovan survives cancer treatment, but her husband walks out. She struggles on with the help of 76-year-old Darlene, who survived her own mastectomy.
A lifetime of resentment fills Darlene toward her father, who abandoned her and her mother two months after returning home from WWII.
Cal McElway was a D-Day paratrooper. In the 48 hours after his jump, a devastating event occurs that destroyed his world. He believed he was worthless, and his family would be better off without him.
His wife Claire found comfort in Psalm 37, “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath.” Her favorite verse brings healing for Ceelie.
Ceelie and Darlene are great characters who bravely face their obstacles. But Cal, by abandoning his family in the belief he was doing them a favor, was wrong. His “sacrifice” was cruelty.
This is a story that lingers with you.

This dual-timeline novel is absorbing and emotional. I found both stories (WWII and present-day) equally compelling. Another winner from Phoenix.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the author for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Fragments of Light starts in France on D-Day, then moves to Winfield, Illinois, in the present day. The past story is crammed into the hours and days of the D-Day landings, while the present story is Ceelie’s story as she recovers from breast cancer … and the devastation of her husband’s desertion.

Ceelie befriends Darlene, another cancer survivor, and the two of them undertake a journey into Darlene’s past, trying to find what happened to her father. Cal was a World War II soldier who went to war, came home, then disappeared. Why? She has nothing more than a few letters and an old photo. But Ceelie gets caught up in the journey, and in finding if there can be good hidden in the bad.

Most of the dual timeline novels I’ve read move between the past and present throughout the novel.
Fragments of Light is different, in that it moves exclusively to the present timeline at about the halfway point. As with all good dual timeline stories, there is no obvious or immediate connection between the past and present stories. That’s only revealed as the story progresses, and it certainly packs a punch when we make the connection. There’s even more of a punch when past and present meet.

I was impressed by Michele Phoenix’s earlier novel, The Space Between Words, and was equally impressed by Fragments of Light. It’s a powerful story of love, redemption, and forgiveness as the characters in the present discover and learn from the past. There’s a lesson there …

Recommended for fans of Christian fiction with a deeper message from authors such as Elizabeth Musser, Susie Finkbeiner, Catherine West, or Christine Dillon. Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

I have been wanting to read this book for awhile, and it definitely did not disappoint! The dual storyline flowed so nicely and made me feel all the emotions (even at 1am when I couldn't put the dang book down!). If you're a fan of historical fiction (especially WW2), I recommend you pick this one up.

Phoenix's Fragments of Light offers glimpses of D-Day. Cal is an American paratrooper dropped off course who must rely on the kindness of French townspeople for his survival. When the occupying Germans return, he aims to protect the French in turn.

In the present day, Ceelie has just finished chemotherapy following a double mastectomy. She rings the bell at the finish of treatment and in the car immediately afterward, Nate, her husband of 24 years, cruelly abandons her. "I'm done," he simply says. Characters flip out in books and people panic in real life, but in this book he hasn't had time to build up our interest or loyalty, so he has simply become the weak, unsympathetic guy causing our girl heartache and trouble.

Then he comes back. (Who does this guy think he is?) He doesn't have a lot of answers as to what led to his implosion of their marriage, but he swears he's not really like that, and that Ceelie should trust him again. Honestly, all we've seen Nate do is leave our vulnerable protagonist, and in a way I was hoping for a painful comeuppance for him, but ALAS.

Meanwhile, a friend Ceelie made through breast cancer treatment, Darlene, is about to enter hospice and has inconveniently decided that she would now like to find the father who abandoned (more abandonment!) her mother and herself when she was an infant after World War II. Ceelie takes on this mission, to the exclusion of her own recovery (she mentions fatigue and incision pain, and she just finished chemotherapy) as well as to the potential detriment of her job (she has not been working lately and had planned to return to her job as a reporter now, but she continues taking leaves of absence and making excuses about postponing her return, insisting on pursuing Darlene's likely wild goose chase). I was desperate for Ceelie to listen to her own needs and take care of herself a little bit throughout much of this.

The people Ceelie stumbles across conveniently know the little key information that exists regarding Darlene's father, so although it is too late for Darlene to find peace in this respect, Ceelie is able to doggedly get to some answers. They weren't satisfying to me as a reader, but they offer some closure.

There's some essential introspection on Ceelie's part, but I wished for a lot more--as well as a more believable connection between Nate and Ceelie and more showing, less telling in regards to emotions and angst.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Fragments of Light by author Michele Phoenix confirms what I’ve known since I first began reading her writing several years ago; she is a master of the storytelling craft with heart gripping storylines and beloved characters.

Fragments of Light is a dual timeline story, written in current time and WWII.
Perfectly juxtaposed, flowing seamlessly, Phoenix tells the story of Ceelie, a woman reeling from a cancer diagnosis and the dissolution of her 27 year marriage, and Darlene, an elderly woman with her own medical issues, facing leaving this world without learning what happened to the father her abandoned her when she was but an infant.

When Darlene appeals to Ceelie for her help, what follows is a incredible journey of discovery; a discovery of self and selflessness, of broken relationships and mended hearts, of abandonment and security. From Missouri to Normandy, Ceelie discovers the bits and pieces of a life that was not lived in a vacuum, but one that lived quietly and without fanfare, saving lives and bringing healing, over decades of time.

I highly recommend Fragments of Light by Michele Phoenix.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, and am not required to write a positive review. All thoughts and opinions therein are solely my own, and freely shared.

If you are looking for a story that will suck you in and wring you out emotionally, look no further. In Fragments of Light, Michele Phoenix pulls no punches when it comes to ugly, difficult, draining, and disappointing moments in life.

And just when you grasp a little bit of hope, the author hits you again with another life-changing event.

Yet she does all of it in a way where you just cannot look away. No matter the pain, the heartache, the loss, or the grief, you keep turning pages, holding on to hope that somewhere along the way the tide will turn for these characters.

Ceelie and Darlene’s friendship was my favorite part of this. Everyone needs a Darlene who teaches you life lessons with a bit of flair and spunk thrown in. It’s easy to see the impact Darlene has made on Ceelie and the strength of the bond between these two women.

The parallels between the modern day story and the one set around D-Day are well constructed and natural, and again kept me turning pages to discover what happened to Hal right alongside Ceelie.

It’s been almost three years between Phoenix’s last release and this one, but this powerful and evocative story was more than worth the wait.



Disclosure statement: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

This book was amazing. The author wove a beautiful story about a paratrooper on D-Day and a current day breast cancer patient. Darlene and Ceelie were friends both with cancer. Ceelie was just getting done with her treatment and Darlene was starting new treatment as her cancer returned. They helped each other through their cancer journey. Darlene's father deserted his wife and baby daughter after he returned from the war. He was a paratrooper who parachuted into France on June 6, 1944. Darlene wanted to find out about her father before she died and this story is about that. It is also about painful relationships and trying to return to people who you love and who you need. It is also about cancer and what it can do to your body, mind, soul and family. The ending of this book had me in tears. The story was just so touching. Having been to Normandy myself, this book with it's history brought it home for me. I would highly recommend this book.

Thanks #FirstEditions for having me read and review this book and #netgalley for supplying this wonderful #Fragmentsoflight

Ceelie has just battled cancer and while cancer brought someone into her life, a new friend Darlene, it also broke her marriage into pieces. While her marriage is crumbling, Darlene asks Ceelie for a very large favor to help her find the father that abandoned her and help her find peace before she dies. Will this mission also help her marriage. Interspersed throughout this story are chapters that take place back at the tail end of World War II around D-Day. These chapters help give the back story to Darlene's father, but also leave the reader hanging in the best way possible.

I love a story that has a current storyline and a past in the same book. I love when those stories connect, but when it takes a moment to find out how they really connect. It was obvious that this storyline would be the connection to Darlene's father, but I was glad that it took some digging to find out all of the details.

Currently, I am avoiding books with bad marriages and cheating spouses, just not loving those books right now, so I was sad to read all the things that happened in this relationship and almost naively ignored that plot point of this book!

I liked the writing and the characters in this book. I would just avoid one of the plot points in the story. I would read another by this author and may read one real soon!

This was my first book by Michèle Phoenix, and what a great introduction to her writing! I loved this split-time story that took us through the events of D-Day, both through the eyes of a paratrooper who landed in Normandy that day and the discovery of his daughter and her friend 76 years later. Both storylines were equally engaging, with compelling characters and similar themes woven throughout.

This is a story that shows the true cost of war through the heartbreak and sacrifice it required of Cal, but it is not a story without hope. Darlene, Ceelie, and Nate were all faced with difficult circumstances and presented with the opportunity to choose between anger or forgiveness, bitterness or grace, betrayal or faithfulness. Those are choices we can all relate to, whether we have lived through a war or not. This is a thought-provoking, heart-wrenching, beautiful story that will stick with you long after the last page!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This dual timeline story is connected by one character, Cal a World War II Army paratrooper. The contemporary time line features two women of widely different ages who are both fighting cancer, Ceelie, a young married woman, and Darlene, an older lady, with whom Ceelie becomes close friends. The historic time line focuses on Cal who is being airlifted into France shortly before D-Day. The connection is that Cal is Darlene's father whom she hasn't seen since she was just a baby when he completely disappears from her and her mom's life. As Darlene's cancer strikes again, she has one poignant request. She wants Ceelie to help her discover what happened to Cal.

This story is so full of depth, pain, anguish, hope, love, heartache and forgiveness. The emotional gamut at times can be draining, yet it is well worth it to come out on the other side at the end. Both time lines will pull at your heartstrings. The contemporary line as both Ceelie and Darlene battle their cancers, and the repercussions that each must handle wrench your emotions especially if you or someone else has had cancer. But the strength of both these ladies was amazing and then throw into Darlene's witty wisdom gems that kept both of them going when times got tough. The historical time line was so well researched and made me feel like I was right there in the middle of the chateau with Cal, Sabine, and Lise as they watched their lives swirl out of control.

This book bounced to the top of my 2020 favorites list. This was my first Michele Phoenix' read, but it definitely will not be my last.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions are mine alone. I was not compensated for this review.

Magnificent! What a wonderful, poignant book. This story crosses three genres. Historical, Christian and Domestic Fiction. They are some of my favorites, especially Historical Fiction.

When you read this book you will learn about the devastation at Normandy Beach on D-Day both physical and mental. You'll learn about breast cancer and it's emotional and physical devastation on the patient, their caretakers and relationships. You will learn how holding in feelings of anger and disappointment in ourselves and others has a profound effect on our lives. The fragments of light shining on all of the devastation is beautiful.

The characters in this book are ones that you will root for, cry for and love to the very end and beyond. When I finished this book, I was speechless. I had to wait a bit to write this review because I just didn't think I could do it justice and I still am not sure I can get across how much I loved this book. Can I give it 10 stars out of five? I think Fragments of Light is fabulous.

I did a little research on Michele Phoenix and discovered why this book is so heartfelt. The cancer struggle is so raw and the love is so real and honest. Michele is a cancer survivor and knows the struggle intimately. Prayers for Michele's continued health. We need more of her wonderful books.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for a fair and honest review. Thank you!

Phoenix is an author who always challenges and inspires. In her latest entry, "Fragments of Light," main character Ceelie is facing cancer, which challenges her view of everything she holds dear--even her over 20 year marriage to Nate. As Ceelie begins to process the many changes in her comfortable life, she's thrust into a WWII mystery by her cancer buddy, Darlene, who is also facing another recurrence of the disease herself.

Darlene enlists Ceelie to help her find Cal, the lost father she only remembers in photographs. She knows he was a paratrooper and that he spent a few years with her mother, but Darlene knows little else but the sting of growing up not knowing the man her mother once loved.

Ceelie finds herself combing the back roads of Missouri and the shores of Normandy with the spicy Darlene by her side. Her boss at the newspaper has given her a week to craft a story that readers will invest in, and Ceelie will have a chance to help Darlene set the record straight about her absent father. All the while, Nate is attempting to do something he didn't always do--to tell Ceelie the truth and open up about his feelings.

Together they sift through memories, rumors and finally, the truth that will shine a light on all the assumptions they carry. Should Ceelie give Nate another chance? Will Darlene find the answers she needs before cancer claims her? In this beautiful, heart-wrenching novel of difficult choices, both Ceelie and Darlene face the same question: How do you leave the past behind to work towards a brighter future?

Phoenix is a master at creating relatable characters who are overcomers. I also love the fact that she has traveled to and experienced many of the actual historical places mentioned in the book, as she traveled to Normandy to help with a documentary, which ultimately inspired "Fragments of Light." If you're looking for an introspective time slip novel with people and places that will embed themselves in your heart, "Fragments of Light" is for you.

“‘History’s stains illuminate the future,’” Or, as I see it, our tragedies shed light on the path ahead, urging us to learn from them. Make us better people. What kind of legacy will we leave? This story is about bravery — confrontation with the enemy. This enemy has many faces: cancer, war, a betrayal or a loss. Michele Phoenix’s latest time-slip novel based on a true event in WW2, reveals all four as she weaves past events with present circumstances of best friends bonded by a cancer diagnosis. They each deal with betrayal and resentment of their own - one, a father lost in the past, the other, a spouse who wants out. ”The opposite of courage isn't fear — it's resentment.” the author points out. With riveting scenes and moving dialogue and characterization, the author has brought this era to light with its many shades of emotion.