A Step of Faith: A Novel (4) (The Walk Series)

A Step of Faith is the fourth in The Walk series that began in 2010. It is preceded by The Walk (2010), Miles to Go (2011), and The Road to Grace (2012). While it is not strictly necessary to have read the first three in order to understand and enjoy A Step of Faith, I would strongly recommend it. The premise of The Walk series is that Alan Christoffersen, living in Seattle, had it all: his own advertising business, a lovely home, and a beautiful, loving wife, McKale who also happens to have been his childhood sweetheart. Until one day when McKale has an accident while riding her horse and subsequently dies, Alan's business partner, Kyle Craig (interesting for James Patterson fans that this is also the name of Alex Cross' former partner (boss) turned evil nemesis) steals the agency's customers, the business is defunct, and with no money, Alan loses his cars and house. After considering and rejecting suicide, Alan decides that with nothing left to tie him to Seattle he just wants to get as far away as possible. He decides to walk from Seattle to the furthest point in the continental United States, Key West, Florida. On his journey, Alan encounters many people, some good, others not so much; some will reappear in his life, others will just become as ships passing in the night. He also runs into obstacles and has his setbacks, such as being mugged and stabbed, but he meets these obstacles with resolve and determination, for it is more about the journey itself that the actual destination.When we last saw Alan at the end of The Road to Grace, Alan awoke in the hospital in St. Louis after experiencing dizziness and headaches and finally losing consciousness alongside the road. Falene, his former employee and friend, is with him and informs him that he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Will Alan resume his walk? The answer lies in A Step of Faith and I don't think it would be considered a spoiler for me to tell you that Alan does indeed continue on his journey, meeting new people and experiencing some things he never even dreamed of. And as before, the journey is Alan's opportunity for soul-searching, listening to his heart, figuring out how he can move on.I have read each book in this series within a week of publication and have enjoyed each immensely. A Step of Faith is certainly no exception, provable by the fact that I devoured it in one day. However this one left me feeling a little bit sad, probably because about the time that Alan finally realizes that he needs people in his life and that he needs to open his heart to love again, those people begin leaving his life. It seems rather a lesson in the old saying that you should never take for granted the ones you love, as you never know when you may lose them. That said, I still enjoyed the book and will be eagerly awaiting the next one (yes, there IS going to be a fifth book in the series, scheduled for May 2014). One problem that is unavoidable is that since the books in the series have been published approximately one year apart, it is easy to forget people and events, or at least the details. I usually re-read the last chapter or two in the previous book before starting a new one, just to refresh my memory. I think I might re-read the first four books shortly before the arrival of the fifth, so that there will be a natural flow that seems lacking when read a year apart. Richard Paul Evans is always easy to read, and never disappoints. I highly recommend this book to all, young and old alike.

"A Walk of Faith" is the forth book in the walk series. I have found this series of books relaxing and inspiring. I have read the last couple on my kindle paperwhite. I was not keeping track of the page number and before I knew it "A walk of Faith" was at it's cliff hanging ending. Now that I have read the four novels, I think that Mr. Evans could have made these four novels into two, with one more to go. I guess it is about that almighty commerce though. Don't get me wrong, I really loved the stories, and still do, that is just my opinion. I had to laugh at the man he met when he reached Florida. I live in Florida and believe it or not, we all do not cling to our guns and bibles- well not all the time anyway. I still highly recommend the walk series- it is a great journey of hope, love and faith. It has made me take a closer look at my own life."A Road to Grace"-- This is the third book in the walk series. "A Road to Grace" is an astounding journey of a man named Alan Christoffersen sets off on.. After loosing his wife to a horse back riding accident, then his business, house and cars he decides to sell what is left of his belongings and walk from Seattle to the farthest point on the map Key West, Florida. The book is written in journal form; narrated by Alan himself. Richard Paul Evans will put you right beside Alan and you will be walking with Alan on his amazing journey. I have to keep reminding myself that this story is fiction. I belong to that club that nobody signs up for. I am wondering how Mr. Evans himself can pull this story out of himself, to the depth he takes this story too. I do not think I have highlighted any novel as much as I have in " a Road to Grace". If I did not have book four " A Step of Faith" to read, I think I would probably have to re-read book three all over again. The story is so simple, yet so inspiring and uplifting. I adored all the quotes that Mr. Evan's included in this novel. I loved all the places Alan tells us about on his journey across this beautiful county of ours, having been to many of them myself it really put me right there along side of Alan. Most importantly though it is the people that Alan meets along the way, that will lead him to the road of Grace. I would highly recommend The walk series to anyone that is looking for more out of life- that wants to be inspired- this is one journey that is definitely worth taking."Miles to Go"Inspiring, moving, and full of wisdom, "Miles to Go" picks up where The Walk left off, continuing the unforgettable series about one man's unrelenting search for hope. What is it about walking that makes our outlook on life seem more hopeful. I like the way Alan's story is told in Journal format. I am looking forward to the next book; I hope he makes it to Key West. I will be looking for more of Richard Paul Evans work; I think I found another great story teller.----

I vacillated on whether to give this book 3 or 4 stars and I finally gave it the 4. I have read about everything this author has written and generally find his writing thought provoking and emotional reads. This book is really no exception in that I found quite a bit to ponder as I quickly read this novel. Evans' books are like that in that I rarely can put them down for long until I have to go back and find out what has happened.This book has Evans' traditional journal/diary entries at the start of each chapter and I find these just as thought provoking as the content in the chapter. The chapters are short but packed with a lot of action. There is a lot of detail including what the main character, Alan, eats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. What I did not like this time was the 4 or 5 pages of dialog between Alan and a cult leader that Alan finds in his journey. For me, it just felt like this was something thrown in and did not add much to the story. I doubt that it was a result of writer's block but it certainly tended to feel like that. It could have been that Evans has a personal agenda with that chapter but I just did not see it. There was also 3 pages or so of lists of BBQ eateries (how inventive their names are in the south) and sayings from church signs. While some were funny, I just did not really get the point of this either.The story left off with a surprise ending and so, yes indeed, I will be pre-ordering the next installment. Again, it is not that this was not a good book because it was. It just did not have the usual Evans magic for me this time.

Everything as anticipated.

Another lovely easy read, as part of a 5 book series it could be a stand alone, but the reader would be better starting at book 1 The Walk.

I've enjoyed the series especially 'Miles to go'. 'A Step of Faith' I found a little boring. I purchased 'The Walk' in large print for a seniors' centre not realizing there were 4 books in the series. After reading 'A step of Faith' i find out there is now to be a fifth book. These books are very expensive for their size and as I have limited funds for large print books for the seniors' centre I regret purchasing 'The Walk'. The seniors really enjoyed it and pressed me to purchase the rest of the series.

The first part of this book, I found a bit hard to get through, simply because it was tough to read about the realities of dealing with his condition and reactions. It was much more pleasurable to read about the interesting characters he met in the previous books. Later, though, the story picks up as he continues the walk. Overall, definitely worth the time spent!

Richard Paul Evans always writes more than just a story...he writes about life and the life choices we make. Life isn't always kind, but our choices can make all the difference in living with dignity and being true to oneself. Sometimes, it take a lot of soul searching to figure out that life is to be enjoyed no matter what tradegy befalls us, it is ok to be happy after sadness, no matter what.