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Mysteries & Wonders of the Bible Series #3
Garden of Secrets Adah's Story
Heartache and trouble follow Adah wherever she goes, from a family who doesn’t want her to broken betrothals that end in death. All Adah wants is a safe haven. Peace.
Then she finds a secret map among her family’s few possessions, and she knows exactly where she must go. She sets out to find the most wondrous place on earth—the legendary Garden of Eden. The location of this paradise is a mystery, and Adah worries she may never find it, even with the help of her new friends. And if she does, there’s no guarantee she’ll be able to enter it.
A glimpse of the garden is all she wants. Will Adah find the peace and safety she so desperately seeks? Or will the challenges of her faith and the dangers she encounters along the way keep her from achieving her dream?
Then she finds a secret map among her family’s few possessions, and she knows exactly where she must go. She sets out to find the most wondrous place on earth—the legendary Garden of Eden. The location of this paradise is a mystery, and Adah worries she may never find it, even with the help of her new friends. And if she does, there’s no guarantee she’ll be able to enter it.
A glimpse of the garden is all she wants. Will Adah find the peace and safety she so desperately seeks? Or will the challenges of her faith and the dangers she encounters along the way keep her from achieving her dream?
304 pages, Paperback
Published January 14, 2025
46 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Texie Susan Gregory
5 books26 followersBorn and bred in beautiful North Carolina, I grew up hearing the Bible stories and wishing I knew more about each person's life. What happened before? What happened next? Unable to find these stories, I began to write my own books and dream of writing professionally.
True story: As a 6th grader, I turned in a book report on my own book - written under a nom de plume!
I hold a BS in Early Childhood Education, an MA in School Counseling and an MA in Religious Education. I've worked in theatre, as a hospital chaplain intern and as a teacher in both public and private schools.
As a pastor's wife, I've served as a lay counselor, written/directed dramas for worship services and co-taught marriage seminars.
My most challenging and rewarding life work has been (is) mothering our two children.
True story: As a 6th grader, I turned in a book report on my own book - written under a nom de plume!
I hold a BS in Early Childhood Education, an MA in School Counseling and an MA in Religious Education. I've worked in theatre, as a hospital chaplain intern and as a teacher in both public and private schools.
As a pastor's wife, I've served as a lay counselor, written/directed dramas for worship services and co-taught marriage seminars.
My most challenging and rewarding life work has been (is) mothering our two children.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 25, 2025
Like the others it was hard to get in to. It did end well, with a little mystery.
May 3, 2025
Texie Susan Gregory once again impressed me with her take on a Biblical fiction story. I admit looking askance at this one since Scripture does not reference a map to the Garden of Eden, nor had I ever heard of one from Biblical or historical scholars. However, I applaud Texie Susan for focusing on the people and events within Scripture, plus the lessons they would have learned on a journey like the one Adah takes, and the "blanks" that could be filled in faithfully.
Adah is a compelling protagonist from page one. She's one of the hardest types to get right, a victim who is not victimized, a heroine who incites sympathy without pity. Yet Texie Susan got her exactly right. Adah possesses a mix of capability and vulnerability, softheartedness and bitterness, with which I empathized. I also experienced gentle, persistent conviction regarding her search for Eden because like her, I so often catch myself thinking, "When I have X thing or person in my life, when I resolve Y issue, when I control Z circumstance, *then* I'll have peace. *Then* I'll feel safe." And like Adah, I have to relearn, peace and safety are not places and people, but found only in the ultimate perfect Person, the Place of His heart.
That's another thing I loved about Garden of Secrets: the spiritual threads are inextricable from the plot. Garden of Secrets is not the first Guideposts "Women of the Bible" book where this happens. But with Garden of Secrets, the union struck me as especially poignant and relatable. It could've been preachy, particularly sense Adah repeats her desire for peace a lot. But because she learns about God and herself in real time, and readers learn (or relearn) with her, the threads are instead relevant and easily applied.
Texie Susan also gets major points for her other characters. It's not accurate to call any of them secondary, because each of them play a vital role no matter the amount of actual page time they have. I do want to highlight a couple based on how they contribute to the plot. Nehemiah, of course, is beautifully written, simultaneously straight out of Scripture and given the best parts of the "mentor" archetype. His firm but gentle leadership, especially where Adah and Nathan are concerned, both convicted and inspired me.
So too, I unexpectedly enjoyed Zahra and wanted to see more of her story and growth. Texie Susan gets brownie points for her, because she starts out looking like a typical villain, but then takes a totally different path--without becoming a completely different person. Zahra's anger, pain, and stubbornness do provide the cautionary tale they're meant to. At the same time she, more than other antagonists, gets to be three-dimensional. She's human, she's hurting, and she has a real story beneath the surface.
In fact, one could say that about most of the characters in Garden of Secrets, which again, is why I enjoyed it so much. This also fed into the inextricable spiritual threads. Yet just as importantly, it fed into the plot. Garden of Secrets quickly becomes a classic example of a "road trip" story where everyone wants something different from the destination, but the journey never becomes cliche. Instead, because everyone's motives are so well-drawn, and because there are clashing goals, it becomes easy to root for Adah's ultimate goal--and wonder how the others will find a satisfactory ending.
That brings me to my last point, which is that the plot of this little book tells a huge story. As with the premise itself, I was skeptical at first because I thought, "There's no way they can find, much less enter, Eden." I quickly realized though, that's not the point. The point here isn't even what everyone learns on the journey. It's more about the journey and the goal of Eden, used in the hand of God and the hands of His servants like Nehemiah, to grow and shape ordinary people. It's about the fact, Eden may be inaccessible on this earth, and sure, that hurts. Yet walking with God restores the relationship that made Eden what it was.
I did take a star because as I said, Adah tends to repeat herself a lot. Also, and more importantly, I wanted to see more romantic, friendly moments between Adah and Nathan. What exists works great, and I did like their banter. But often, they seemed caught in an odd place between enemies to lovers and actual romantic partners. I'm still not sure I buy their relationship because once the story ended, Nathan seemed like Adah annoyed him a bit too much. In my mind, that's the last thing she needed.
Those issues, however, are mild, and I'd probably bump this book up to a 4.5-4.6. Regardless of the actual rating, it's well worth a read--or two. It's one of those rare fiction books that earned some highlights in my Kindle. So with my strong recommendation, grab a copy, and if you haven't caught up on the Ordinary and Extraordinary Women of the Bible series via Guideposts, please do so. You can also dive into this latest, the Mysteries and Wonders of the Bible series, which leans a bit more fiction but is still faithful to Who God is. I promise you'll love these books!
Adah is a compelling protagonist from page one. She's one of the hardest types to get right, a victim who is not victimized, a heroine who incites sympathy without pity. Yet Texie Susan got her exactly right. Adah possesses a mix of capability and vulnerability, softheartedness and bitterness, with which I empathized. I also experienced gentle, persistent conviction regarding her search for Eden because like her, I so often catch myself thinking, "When I have X thing or person in my life, when I resolve Y issue, when I control Z circumstance, *then* I'll have peace. *Then* I'll feel safe." And like Adah, I have to relearn, peace and safety are not places and people, but found only in the ultimate perfect Person, the Place of His heart.
That's another thing I loved about Garden of Secrets: the spiritual threads are inextricable from the plot. Garden of Secrets is not the first Guideposts "Women of the Bible" book where this happens. But with Garden of Secrets, the union struck me as especially poignant and relatable. It could've been preachy, particularly sense Adah repeats her desire for peace a lot. But because she learns about God and herself in real time, and readers learn (or relearn) with her, the threads are instead relevant and easily applied.
Texie Susan also gets major points for her other characters. It's not accurate to call any of them secondary, because each of them play a vital role no matter the amount of actual page time they have. I do want to highlight a couple based on how they contribute to the plot. Nehemiah, of course, is beautifully written, simultaneously straight out of Scripture and given the best parts of the "mentor" archetype. His firm but gentle leadership, especially where Adah and Nathan are concerned, both convicted and inspired me.
So too, I unexpectedly enjoyed Zahra and wanted to see more of her story and growth. Texie Susan gets brownie points for her, because she starts out looking like a typical villain, but then takes a totally different path--without becoming a completely different person. Zahra's anger, pain, and stubbornness do provide the cautionary tale they're meant to. At the same time she, more than other antagonists, gets to be three-dimensional. She's human, she's hurting, and she has a real story beneath the surface.
In fact, one could say that about most of the characters in Garden of Secrets, which again, is why I enjoyed it so much. This also fed into the inextricable spiritual threads. Yet just as importantly, it fed into the plot. Garden of Secrets quickly becomes a classic example of a "road trip" story where everyone wants something different from the destination, but the journey never becomes cliche. Instead, because everyone's motives are so well-drawn, and because there are clashing goals, it becomes easy to root for Adah's ultimate goal--and wonder how the others will find a satisfactory ending.
That brings me to my last point, which is that the plot of this little book tells a huge story. As with the premise itself, I was skeptical at first because I thought, "There's no way they can find, much less enter, Eden." I quickly realized though, that's not the point. The point here isn't even what everyone learns on the journey. It's more about the journey and the goal of Eden, used in the hand of God and the hands of His servants like Nehemiah, to grow and shape ordinary people. It's about the fact, Eden may be inaccessible on this earth, and sure, that hurts. Yet walking with God restores the relationship that made Eden what it was.
I did take a star because as I said, Adah tends to repeat herself a lot. Also, and more importantly, I wanted to see more romantic, friendly moments between Adah and Nathan. What exists works great, and I did like their banter. But often, they seemed caught in an odd place between enemies to lovers and actual romantic partners. I'm still not sure I buy their relationship because once the story ended, Nathan seemed like Adah annoyed him a bit too much. In my mind, that's the last thing she needed.
Those issues, however, are mild, and I'd probably bump this book up to a 4.5-4.6. Regardless of the actual rating, it's well worth a read--or two. It's one of those rare fiction books that earned some highlights in my Kindle. So with my strong recommendation, grab a copy, and if you haven't caught up on the Ordinary and Extraordinary Women of the Bible series via Guideposts, please do so. You can also dive into this latest, the Mysteries and Wonders of the Bible series, which leans a bit more fiction but is still faithful to Who God is. I promise you'll love these books!
August 8, 2025
Adah like her older sisters is sold into slavery by her father. She has to flee from her mistress. Returning home she finds her mother is near death and her little brother is still there. Her father sells her again to an old Egyptian man who decides to marry her. But before he mother died she gave Adah a family treasure, the map to Garden of Secrets, Eden. The old man's sons actually cause his death and they want the ring the old man gave her. Jonah, her betrothed has come to rescue her and the sons kill him at the gates of Hebron. Emili takes her in. This is the beginning of her journey. Emili's son and Adah travel with Nehemiah to Susa. On this journey there is danger and Adah has to learn to forgive, anger only hurts you.She learns strength is depending on God. Forgiveness frees you, Nehemiah teaches her.Adah is searching for the peace and safety in Eden but learns it is truly found in a relationship with God, that the choice is before her death and life. Adah is not trusting of other people but she must learn to trust. Does she find safety and peace and love? You'll have to read Texie Susan Gregory's tale.
April 14, 2025
Adah's Story Is A Must Read !!
Adah went thru being sold three times by the age of 17 yrs old . I can't imagine the abuse and the heartache of feeling UnW anted & Worthless . Jesus knows her heart & soul makes away !! I loved this Story because I was abused most of my life . Peace & Grace Came from Jesus Christ !!
Adah went thru being sold three times by the age of 17 yrs old . I can't imagine the abuse and the heartache of feeling UnW anted & Worthless . Jesus knows her heart & soul makes away !! I loved this Story because I was abused most of my life . Peace & Grace Came from Jesus Christ !!
August 28, 2025
Wonderful writing
The descriptions are so descriptive, I could picture the entire book, characters, their expressions, and mannerisms. The plot was one I had never heard anything about but it didn't hinder the message delivered. It was an amazing journey to take with all of them. I believe you will enjoy it as well.
The descriptions are so descriptive, I could picture the entire book, characters, their expressions, and mannerisms. The plot was one I had never heard anything about but it didn't hinder the message delivered. It was an amazing journey to take with all of them. I believe you will enjoy it as well.
April 5, 2025
4.5 ⭐️
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews