Jessica Thompson: When I reached Chapter 31, I had to set the book down and just breathe. Jan Notzon doesn’t merely end a story he resurrects a soul. Watching Grace’s return to life through music, through forgiveness, through that violin that had been silent for so long, felt like witnessing creation itself.
The way Jan writes of the sunset “a dying aria of colors” mirrored Grace’s own rebirth. It wasn’t just poetic; it was sacred.
I wept. I truly did. Because And Ye Shall Be As God reminded me that redemption isn’t loud or sudden. It comes quietly, in trembling hands and second chances.
Jan, your courage to face pain and faith, and to write beauty into the broken, makes you a voice our community treasures. Please, keep writing. The world needs authors who remind us that forgiveness especially of ourselves is divine