Any Bitter Thing by Monica Wood

Published in 2005. 335 pages.


I loved this novel that was part the journey of a woman from childhood to adulthood, part a mystery tale, part an exploration of faith, and part the story of a marriage! It was heart-breaking and faith-affirming. It was filled with both sorrow and hope.

This is part of the description of the novel on goodreads:

Lizzy Mitchell was raised from the age of two by her uncle, a Catholic priest. When she was nine, he was falsely accused of improprieties with her and dismissed from his church, and she was sent away to boarding school. Now thirty years old and in a failing marriage, she is nearly killed in a traffic accident. What she discovers when she sets out to find the truths surrounding the accident and about the accusations that led to her uncle's death does more than change her life. With deft insight into the snares of the human heart, Monica Wood has written an intimate and emotionally expansive novel full of understanding and hope.

The title of the book comes from a poignant Bible verse:

The full soul tramples upon the honeycomb,
but to the hungry soul, any bitter thing tastes sweet.
- Proverbs 27:7

Any Bitter Thing was a finalist for Beliefnet's 2005 Best Spiritual Book of the Year. I'd never read anything by Monica Wood before, but I think I'll have to look for her other work. Her website is here.

2010.67