Hungry

Choices and Chances #1

by Emily Josephine

Widowed for four years, Cynthia Redman’s life is turned upside-down when her daughter, Melissa, collapses in the school cafeteria. Subsequent tests, as well as some secret counsel from the school’s office manager, convince Cynthia to radically change her and Melissa’s eating lifestyle. When a visit with Dr. Munger, the school district’s director of Food and Nutrition, brings no promise of help to make the school food healthier, Cynthia takes matters into her own hands and begins to organize parent demonstrations in order to pressure the school district to provide fewer processed food meals and more whole foods choices.

Preston Brenner meets Cynthia at one of these demonstrations, on his way to speak with Dr. Munger. As the regional vice-president of the company that provides most of the food for the school district, his position forces him into a role of peacemaker, trying to persuade Munger that the company, Delico Foods, is not at fault for the illnesses of Melissa and two other children who were hospitalized just after eating a school lunch. But these illnesses – one of which resulted in death – plus the sudden discovery that his health is not as great as he had believed, ignites a shift in Preston’s thinking about food and health.

A second chance encounter with Cynthia makes him decide she is a woman worth pursuing. But first, he has a few obstacles to overcome: that Melissa does not want another man in Cynthia’s life, the Redman’s obsession with healthy eating, and – biggest and worst of all – that Preston knows that Cynthia will want nothing to do with him if she ever finds out the truth about his job.

In the meantime, children continue to get ill after eating school lunches. Is it the cafeteria food? Or is something more sinister going on?

If the truth is to be discovered, Preston and Cynthia must open their hearts to each other. But will Cynthia let go of the love for her deceased husband and be able to trust a man who had lied to her? Will Preston be able to face the painful truth of both the past and the present?

If they don’t, many more children’s lives will be at stake…

This inspirational romance is a full-length novel, peppered with suspense and revealing how choices and chances can bring an unlikely group of people together in order to fight for – or against – a common cause. It is the first book in the “Choices And Chances” series.

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Christian Fiction

251 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 14, 2015

About the author

Assuming she's still alive when you read this, Emily Josephine lives somewhere on Planet Earth with a couple of people she refers to as "family" when she's in a good mood, writing stories with characters who lead much more interesting lives than she does, with an eye toward entertaining readers as well as encouraging them to grow into the person God created them to be, and in so doing endeavoring to kick the habit of writing run-on sentences; however, she sometimes waxes Charles Dickens-ish and is at such times unable to help herself - and speaking of famous people, if you look for "Emily Josephine" on any social media site or on YouTube, you will find more than one person going by that gorgeous name, but it will not be THE Emily Josephine, the author about whom you are now reading, because Emily Josephine The Author is severely and deathly allergic to both social media and YouTube, and if anyone tries to assert the proposition that such an allergy is an absolute and certain impossibility, she will stoutly deny their denial, "stout" being an absolute and certain absurdity in this context as there has never been anything stout about Emily except for the blessedly brief period of her life when she was pregnant and a mommy to a newborn baby.

Reviews

[juanita dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

His Second Chance

I've gotten to chapter five and felt compelled to share my thoughts. I never thought about food poisoning as a child or adult. I had allergies as a child but outgrew. Later as an adult I've altered my eating to being healthier, I think. Now with pandemics, etc. the possibility of terrorism transmitted in foods to children or to anyone gives cause for thought. However, we cannot be paranoid or we will starve. I pray before eating to ask God's blessings on the food. Aside from that there isn't much I can do. I trust the Lord to see and bring me through but if not, then I can only conclude it was my time to go. I thank you for the insight and bringing awareness. We're imperfect people in an imperfect world and won't find perfection until we return to Jesus Christ. They will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I will continue reading but just wanted to share before I came to the end.

[Sharon Mitcheltree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet romance with sympathetic characters. However, the preaching about natural foods overshadowed the characters and their stories, and I am a natural foods adherent. The author admits that her books and blogs on this subject did not sell, so she is trying to sugar coat it, or agave nectar coat it as the case may be, in a fiction story. I would rather she expand the story and have the references to natural foods lightened up. And it was totally unrealistic for a 10 year old, used to eating at McDonalds a couple times a week, to overnight accept a totally different way of eating without some complaints.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great clean fiction with info on healthy eating

I was recently introduced to Emily's books when I got an offer for a free book of hers on Book Cave. This story is different, which she'll tell you at the beginning of the book. It is a mixture of romance and suspense with a large dose of healthy eating. It's an enjoyable read that makes you think.

[Jean Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story although it seemed unclear why people were putting poison in food that children would eat. I did find it a little unreal that a 10 year old would go from eating fast food to eating nothing but healthy foods without a fight. I liked how more than one of the characters was working to find out the truth.

[Lynda Knapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable story!

I enjoyed this book and the characters. I liked that information was given about processed foods vs. natural foods. It was eye-opening to think about food that way. I thought the story was well-written and I would definitely read this author again!

[Joyce Hartley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best

I usually can hardly put down books by Emily Josephine, however, this one I had to MAKE myself finish it. This has been the worst of her books that I have read. I will keep reading hers books as I'm sure there are more good ones than bad ones.

[Jennifer Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. I am trying to learn to est better, so this worked for me. The mystery kept me guessing who really was behind it all, but I am left still wondering what the blackmail was for as that I never saw. Maybe I will reread it and see if I can figure that out next!

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good

[Betty Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting story

This was an excellent storyline that portrayed some true facts about Americas seating habits. A story that is very real today.

[GERALD R KACZOR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Really enjoyed reading it! Great plot! Wholesome story! Learned about healthy versus unhealthy food. Great love story with mystery in it!

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read.

I enjoy reading love stories that are not too graphic so enjoyed this one immensely. I also like them with good morals.

[April Hughey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting concept

I enjoyed this book and the interesting take on the foods we consume. Would have liked to have had the author delve a little more into the reasoning behind the poisoning.

[Eveline Evans]

Interesting story that held my interest to the very end. Great way to get the "healthy eating" message across.