Number-one inspirational author continually tackles difficult topics of abortion, adoption

Karen Kingsbury Photo credit: Dan Davis on KarenKingsbury.com

If you haven’t read any Karen Kingsbury books, you should definitely go pick one up. Maybe even order Shades of Blue on Amazon or get the Sunrise series sent to your Kindle. You could start by watching her book turned into a movie, Like Dandelion Dust – without a doubt one of my favorite movies ever. While I can’t wholeheartedly recommend every book written by Kingsbury, the vast majority of them proclaim good, healthy messages about relationships, love, family, and life.

Kingsbury is known as a Christian author, but she is hailed as “America’s favorite inspirational novelist” on her Amazon bio:

What’s more, Kingsbury lives what she writes. She’s been married to the same man – whom she refers to as her “Prince Charming” – for over twenty years, and together they have six children. Three of their boys were adopted from Haiti just over a decade ago. Her ministry, Life Changing Fiction, raises money for various charities.

No matter which of Kingsbury’s books you pick up, you will likely walk away with the message that God has a plan for your life – a plan you may not personally approve of at the moment, but a plan that is altogether good. There are several messages like this one that Kingsbury continually pounds home in the most delightful ways. She illustrates the constant faithfulness of God in everyday life situations and in the most difficult circumstances. She paints her characters as realistic and usually down-to-earth. In fact, most of them could easily be your next-door neighbors.

But there is one message in particular that Kingsbury sends home to her readers in poignant ways, again and again. And that’s the message of the beauty and value of all life. Kingsbury doesn’t shy away from the hard topics of abortion and adoption. She has a personal story to share. In her author’s note in the back of Shades of Blue (a story about healing, forgiveness, and restoration for a man and a woman after a long-ago abortion), Kingsbury shares how she regrets driving a friend to an abortion appointment years ago when the friend had no one else to turn to. Kingsbury writes about how she wishes she had thought of something else to do, somewhere else helpful to take her friend.

Several people have written to Kingsbury, letting her know how Shades of Blue has changed their lives. Sixteen-year-old Lexie wrote:

Jessie shared her own touching story:

And Shades of Blue is just one of Kingsbury’s books that deals with this tough subject. She writes about a young unmarried girl in Take Three (part of the Above the Line series) who nearly has an abortion but changes her mind and gives her son up for adoption. The trailer for Take Three shows an elderly man outside the abortion clinic giving Andi – the girl – a pro-life pamphlet about the development of her unborn baby.

The Sunrise series, particularly Summer, deals with Ashley Blake and her discovery that her first daughter has anencephaly – a condition that will cause her to die in the womb or very soon after birth. I won’t give away too many details, but suffice it to say that Summer is an absolutely incredible story that accurately portrays the feelings and beautiful experiences of many families who reject the advice to abort a baby with defects. You won’t walk away without crying your eyes out and celebrating the absolute wonder of each tiny life, no matter how brief.

This Side of Heaven, Loving, and Like Dandelion Dust all deal with adoption. When Joy Came to Stay and Between Sundays address the foster care system in a moving way. The entire Bailey Flanigan series is written about the Flanigan family, who have adopted half of their children from Haiti, just like Karen Kingsbury’s real-life family.

I can’t say enough good about Kingsbury and her choice to address the tough issues of abortion, adoption, and foster care from multiple angles in multiple books. I have no doubt that her books will continue to inspire, save lives, and bring healing to many. This culture needs more authors like her!

"Above the Line: Take 3" trailer