Greetings from the Flipside by Rene Gutteridge, Cheryl McKay

Hope Landon has been rewriting other people's greeting cards since she was six years old -- there's always a funnier caption. She's all set to chase those creative dreams with her musician fiance in New York City until he leaves Hope at the altar, deciding he must not really love this girl if he can't write a song for her. That may give her something to write about . . .

Hope disappears alone on what was supposed to be the couple's month long honeymoon. Upon returning she learns of her funeral -- everyone in her life concluded Hope must have killed herself after being jilted. Needing a fresh start more than ever, she heads for the Big Apple only to discover it's not that easy to rent a place when you've been declared dead.

Taking shelter at the YWCA, Hope soon lands a job at a Christian inspirational greeting card company as an assistant to Jake, a guy who shut down his organization's humor department. She has lost her faith in love; he needs to find something or someone that will make him laugh.

Is there anything in the cards for these two?

My Review:
This is a frame story, or rather a story within a story. More accurately, it's a coma within a coma. Let me explain. The protagonist, Hope Landon, experiences the worst day of her life when she is first left at the altar, then knocked unconscious, and finally falls into a coma. Her doctor and nurse warn Hope's visitors that those in a coma hear what is being said. This only seems to encourage her "current-decade challenged" mother to frequently LOUDLY pray by reciting all of the negative things that make up Hope's sorry life. The town florist, Jake, has had a crush on Hope ever since elementary school, and he witnessed her tragic injury. He visits and brings a more positive voice into Hope's life.

The reader gets to experience Hope's coma by reading "GREETINGS FROM MY LIFE" sections which run concurrent with the storyline. We see how words and Coma Arousal Therapy translate to help or hinder. This is a humorous, light-hearted read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Discussion questions included.

Thank you to Bonnie at Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and B&H Books for my copy.

If you would like to read the first chapter, click here.

If you would like to buy a copy, click here.