First Line Friday #13

Welcome to First Line Friday! I got this idea from my friend Kathy over at Bookworm Nation. This meme is easy to do: simply pick up the book you're currently reading and share the very first line! There are some really good first lines out there. They grab you and suck you right into the story and make you want to keep reading. So, my selection for this week is:

An Unseen Angel by Alissa Parker

As the mother of one of the children who died at Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, Alissa Parker had her world shattered by a mass murderer's rampage. She was left to make sense of her daughter's life and death and to rebuild, seeking a deeply spiritual path to carry on with her life and find new meaning and purpose.

As a co-founder of SafeandSoundSchools.org, a touring national advocacy group that helps people take action to make schools safer, Alissa has talked to hundreds of parents around the country about her ordeal and how she was able to endure the unspeakable horror of Sandy Hook.

An Unseen Angel takes readers though Alissa's complete journey, chronicling the moment-by-moment account of the day that began with every parent's worst nightmare: hearing, "There's been a shooting at your child's school." It follows her faith-filled spiritual path to coping, healing, forgiving, and eventually feeling gratitude for the life and love of her daughter Emilie. She describes a bond of love between a mother and daughter that is so profound it transcends the physical body and touches Alissa and the people who loved Emilie who feel her presence every day. And she articulates her deep Christian faith, which guided the answers to Alissa's gut-wrenching, post-tragedy questioning:
"Where is Emilie now?"
"Can love transcend the physical body?"
"How can I know that Emilie is in a better place?"
"How do I deal with the 'here and now' when the pain and anger I feel is so overwhelming?"

This is the first book about the school-shooting tragedies with a focus on faith and spirituality. As we learn Alissa's story, we are introduced to a special little girl who was wise beyond her years and whose lessons about life and the transcendent power of love continued even after she had passed away.

First Line:

"I looked out the bay window of my living room and my heart started pounding."

So, what's your pick for this week? If you want to participate grab the logo and post your own First Line Friday entry on your blog and then leave your link in the comments. And make sure you link your post back to Bookworm Nation! If you don't have a blog, just leave the title, author and first line in the comment section below.