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Bradleyville Series #2
Color the Sidewalk for Me
Bradleyville Series Book 2 (Contemporary/Romance Genre)
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"As a chalk-fingered child, I had worn my craving for Mama's love on my sleeve. But as I grew, that craving became cloaked in excuses and denial until slowly it sank beneath my skin to lie unheeded but vital, like the sinews of my framework. By the time I was a teenager, I thought the gap between Mama and me could not be wider.
And than Danny came along ..."
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A splendidly colored sidewalk. Six-year-old Celia presented the gift to her mother with pride--and received only anger in return. Why couldn't Mama love her? Years later, when once-in-a-lifetime love found Celia, her mother opposed it. The crushing losses that followed drove Celia, guilt-ridden and grieving, from her Bradleyville home.
Now thirty-five, she must return to nurse her father after a stroke. But the deepest need for healing lies in the rift between mother and daughter. God can perform such a miracle. But first Celia and Mama must let go of the past--before it destroys them both.
----------
"As a chalk-fingered child, I had worn my craving for Mama's love on my sleeve. But as I grew, that craving became cloaked in excuses and denial until slowly it sank beneath my skin to lie unheeded but vital, like the sinews of my framework. By the time I was a teenager, I thought the gap between Mama and me could not be wider.
And than Danny came along ..."
----------
A splendidly colored sidewalk. Six-year-old Celia presented the gift to her mother with pride--and received only anger in return. Why couldn't Mama love her? Years later, when once-in-a-lifetime love found Celia, her mother opposed it. The crushing losses that followed drove Celia, guilt-ridden and grieving, from her Bradleyville home.
Now thirty-five, she must return to nurse her father after a stroke. But the deepest need for healing lies in the rift between mother and daughter. God can perform such a miracle. But first Celia and Mama must let go of the past--before it destroys them both.
371 pages, Paperback
First published March 10, 2002
27 people are currently reading
222 people want to read
About the author
Brandilyn Collins
61 books628 followersBrandilyn Collins is a best-selling novelist known for her trademark Seatbelt Suspense®--fast-paced, character-driven suspense with myriad twists and an interwoven thread of faith.
Brandilyn is also known for her distinctive book on fiction-writing techniques, Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors (John Wiley & Sons). She is a sought-after teacher and speaker at writers' conferences.
Brandilyn is also known for her distinctive book on fiction-writing techniques, Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors (John Wiley & Sons). She is a sought-after teacher and speaker at writers' conferences.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
August 19, 2020
This book . . . it is amazing. The characters are well drawn, the choices they make are real--sometimes in heartbreaking ways. Yep, it's a tear-jerker.
Set in small-town Kentucky, moving from the main character's present (1997) to past (1960's-'70's), it unravels the story of a troubled young woman, her family, and the boy she loved and can never forget.
This is book 2 in a series, but it can be read on its own with no trouble. This is a story that will stick with you. And the ending gives all the feels.
Celia and Danny *sigh*
No bad language or sex scenes, but realistic adult situations. A tear-jerker.
Set in small-town Kentucky, moving from the main character's present (1997) to past (1960's-'70's), it unravels the story of a troubled young woman, her family, and the boy she loved and can never forget.
This is book 2 in a series, but it can be read on its own with no trouble. This is a story that will stick with you. And the ending gives all the feels.
Celia and Danny *sigh*
No bad language or sex scenes, but realistic adult situations. A tear-jerker.
September 6, 2013
This is one of the best books I have ever read. The first two chapters were kind of slow and so I set it aside for a while but then when I went back to it the story really drew me in. It was really sad and heart wrenching at times but the ending was well worth enduring through the pain and torment of the characters. It really touched my heart and showed the importance of letting resentment, bitterness and pain of the past go through forgiveness. I would highly recommend it!
July 19, 2023
Loved meeting the same characters but seeing them from a different perspective.
The exploration Celia's thought patterns and the internalisation of all that had happened made a lot of sense especially when her Mother's story eventually came to light.
This was sensitively written and helped me think through various aspects of my own relationship with my mother & daughter.
I found the ending rather predictable otherwise I d have given 5 stars. (I'm now reading book three in the trilogy). An excellent read for all ages and a nudge to all families to remember to share their backstory with all generations, telling of both, the good and the difficulties, and explaining, how and why various actions were taken. Better to do this earlier than leaving it to late .
The exploration Celia's thought patterns and the internalisation of all that had happened made a lot of sense especially when her Mother's story eventually came to light.
This was sensitively written and helped me think through various aspects of my own relationship with my mother & daughter.
I found the ending rather predictable otherwise I d have given 5 stars. (I'm now reading book three in the trilogy). An excellent read for all ages and a nudge to all families to remember to share their backstory with all generations, telling of both, the good and the difficulties, and explaining, how and why various actions were taken. Better to do this earlier than leaving it to late .
December 20, 2017
Wow! Just Wow!
This is Book 2 that I just finished. If you read the books, so yourself a favor and read them in order. Ms. Collins' writing is wonderful. I could see this book in my mind being acted out as I read. Her writing is very descriptive. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Ready for Book 3. I just don't want the story to end.
This is Book 2 that I just finished. If you read the books, so yourself a favor and read them in order. Ms. Collins' writing is wonderful. I could see this book in my mind being acted out as I read. Her writing is very descriptive. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Ready for Book 3. I just don't want the story to end.
May 15, 2021
Like all her books, very hard to put down
Every book that I have ever read by this author has been outstanding. Each one so well written that I had trouble putting them down until I was through with them. Each story so wonderfully written that I hate to come to the end. I highly recommend her books!
Every book that I have ever read by this author has been outstanding. Each one so well written that I had trouble putting them down until I was through with them. Each story so wonderfully written that I hate to come to the end. I highly recommend her books!
July 17, 2017
Character development wonderful, took a long time to get to a satisfying wrap.
November 17, 2018
this was a .book about faith and relashionship between s mom and a daughter. and how they learn to trust each other again.
February 22, 2020
Enjoy this. Great pacing with twists and turns at just the right place.
May 8, 2020
I don't remember anything about this book, but I remember that I adored it when I read it.
February 4, 2023
Restoration is a great thing. Watching people get back on tract. This storm could be true for many readers!
June 22, 2023
I first read this book almost two decades ago, but I will never forget this story. You can’t put it down even through the tears.
August 22, 2024
Great book!
December 29, 2024
good book
December 30, 2009
A powerful and emotionally charged story,"Color the Sidewalk for Me",is one of those books that you don't want to read unless you have a box of tissues nearby.
By the time you are done with this book, you'll find yourself in tears and smiling and filling interwined with the characters as if they are flesh and blood.
Set in the small town of Bradleyville, Kentucky, the main character, Celia Matthews, finds herself returning home to help her father recover from a debilitating stroke, only to discover herself being set on a path of healing herself.
Centered around the scripture verse,Matthew 11:28-29, you find yourself by the middle of the book, become so captivated by the characters and so caught up with the estranged relationship between Celia and her mother, that it's hard not to feeel completely pulled in to the story's tale of how God's forgiveness is bigger than all of us.
The story seamlessly moves from the past to the present and back to the present with strong character development of both the major and minor characters whose lives are interwoven with each other.
There is amazing character dynamics that are carefully written out and even though the story builds up with flashbacks from the past to the present, the story build up is done in such a way, that you feel a part of the story.
By the middle of the book, I found myself, having to stop long enough to get tissues , because of the tears that were welling up and feeling that longing pang in my heart as I found myself caught up with both the pain and the love of the characters of,"Color the Sidewalk for Me".
The feel of a small town and more than anything, the intimacy of the characters, makes it so easy to quickly become attached and caught up in their lives and feeling that they could be anyone you know in real life.
Throughout the time I was reading the book, I couldn't help but think of how much it is a reminder that we could try to run from the hurts in our lives, but eventually, there comes a time when we need to learn to give it to our Heavenly Father and allow Him to enter our lives and heal us and part of that is, as He has forgiven us, so we need to forgive others and ourselves.
By the time I was finished, I couldn't stop crying. "Color the Sidewalk for Me" just captured the essence of Matthew 11:28-29 and more than anything was the subtle but powerful punch that Ms. Collins characters delivered God's message of forgiveness and there is nothing too big for Him to handle.
"Color the Sidewalk for Me" just reminds the reader throughout that eventually we have to face our hurts and through His forgiveness, forgive others and ourselves, all to His Glory.
It is a heart-wrenching read because it is just such a powerful reminder how much God does understand our hurts and how as much as we want to try to think we are in control, we're not, He has bigger and better plans for us, and sometimes, it is through others that He helps us heal.
This is a book that I would recommend with a box of tissues to anyone who may have feel like that there is nothing our Heavenly Father can forgive, or may have found themselves, wounded either large or small and thinking there is no hope at the end of the tunnel.
"Color the Sidewalk for Me" is a reminder that there is always hope in and through Jesus Christ.
This is the first time I have read anything by Brandilyn Collins, and it had me wanting to read more in the series, though when I do, I definetely will have to make sure I have a box of tissues nearby so I could try to work on finish reading if the tears didn't get in the way first.
Be forewarn.
You will smile.
You will cry (oh you will cry so highly recommend the box of tissues) and it is promised that you will smile and cry when you are done, but more than anything, "Color the Sidewalk for Me" will have you turning to God and just saying to Him,"I am Yours, Lord".
This is definitely worth checking out of the library, buying for yourself, giving as a gift to someone who loves to read, maybe someone you know who is dealing with past (or present) hurts and need to know that God does love them and not only has forgiven them, but also wants them to learn from His forgiveness to forgive others too.
"Color the Sidewalk for Me" is part of the Bradlyeville Series and if the rest is anything like "Color the Sidewalk for Me", I'm going to need a lot of tissues.
This is a book that I want to add to my bookshelf and just pull out to re-read again and again.
By the time you are done with this book, you'll find yourself in tears and smiling and filling interwined with the characters as if they are flesh and blood.
Set in the small town of Bradleyville, Kentucky, the main character, Celia Matthews, finds herself returning home to help her father recover from a debilitating stroke, only to discover herself being set on a path of healing herself.
Centered around the scripture verse,Matthew 11:28-29, you find yourself by the middle of the book, become so captivated by the characters and so caught up with the estranged relationship between Celia and her mother, that it's hard not to feeel completely pulled in to the story's tale of how God's forgiveness is bigger than all of us.
The story seamlessly moves from the past to the present and back to the present with strong character development of both the major and minor characters whose lives are interwoven with each other.
There is amazing character dynamics that are carefully written out and even though the story builds up with flashbacks from the past to the present, the story build up is done in such a way, that you feel a part of the story.
By the middle of the book, I found myself, having to stop long enough to get tissues , because of the tears that were welling up and feeling that longing pang in my heart as I found myself caught up with both the pain and the love of the characters of,"Color the Sidewalk for Me".
The feel of a small town and more than anything, the intimacy of the characters, makes it so easy to quickly become attached and caught up in their lives and feeling that they could be anyone you know in real life.
Throughout the time I was reading the book, I couldn't help but think of how much it is a reminder that we could try to run from the hurts in our lives, but eventually, there comes a time when we need to learn to give it to our Heavenly Father and allow Him to enter our lives and heal us and part of that is, as He has forgiven us, so we need to forgive others and ourselves.
By the time I was finished, I couldn't stop crying. "Color the Sidewalk for Me" just captured the essence of Matthew 11:28-29 and more than anything was the subtle but powerful punch that Ms. Collins characters delivered God's message of forgiveness and there is nothing too big for Him to handle.
"Color the Sidewalk for Me" just reminds the reader throughout that eventually we have to face our hurts and through His forgiveness, forgive others and ourselves, all to His Glory.
It is a heart-wrenching read because it is just such a powerful reminder how much God does understand our hurts and how as much as we want to try to think we are in control, we're not, He has bigger and better plans for us, and sometimes, it is through others that He helps us heal.
This is a book that I would recommend with a box of tissues to anyone who may have feel like that there is nothing our Heavenly Father can forgive, or may have found themselves, wounded either large or small and thinking there is no hope at the end of the tunnel.
"Color the Sidewalk for Me" is a reminder that there is always hope in and through Jesus Christ.
This is the first time I have read anything by Brandilyn Collins, and it had me wanting to read more in the series, though when I do, I definetely will have to make sure I have a box of tissues nearby so I could try to work on finish reading if the tears didn't get in the way first.
Be forewarn.
You will smile.
You will cry (oh you will cry so highly recommend the box of tissues) and it is promised that you will smile and cry when you are done, but more than anything, "Color the Sidewalk for Me" will have you turning to God and just saying to Him,"I am Yours, Lord".
This is definitely worth checking out of the library, buying for yourself, giving as a gift to someone who loves to read, maybe someone you know who is dealing with past (or present) hurts and need to know that God does love them and not only has forgiven them, but also wants them to learn from His forgiveness to forgive others too.
"Color the Sidewalk for Me" is part of the Bradlyeville Series and if the rest is anything like "Color the Sidewalk for Me", I'm going to need a lot of tissues.
This is a book that I want to add to my bookshelf and just pull out to re-read again and again.
January 3, 2011
As a chalk-fingered child, I had worn my craving for Mama’s love on my sleeve. But as I grew, that craving became cloaked in excuses and denial until slowly it sank beneath my skin to lie unheeded but vital, like the sinews of my framework. By the time I was a teenager, I thought the gap between Mama and me could not be wider.
And then Danny came along. . . .
A splendidly colored sidewalk. Six-year-old Celia presented the gift to her mother with pride—and received only anger in return. Why couldn’t Mama love her? Years later, when once-in-a-lifetime love found Celia, her mother opposed it. The crushing losses that followed drove Celia, guilt-ridden and grieving, from her Bradleyville home.
Now thirty-five, she must return to nurse her father after a stroke. But the deepest need for healing lies in the rift between mother and daughter. God can perform such a miracle. But first Celia and Mama must let go of the past--before it destroys them both.
My Review - I loved the story of Celia and Danny but to get to it kind of took a while. It could have been that I was also reading a book on my Nook. But I liked this book overall and will definitely read the 3rd book of the series.
And then Danny came along. . . .
A splendidly colored sidewalk. Six-year-old Celia presented the gift to her mother with pride—and received only anger in return. Why couldn’t Mama love her? Years later, when once-in-a-lifetime love found Celia, her mother opposed it. The crushing losses that followed drove Celia, guilt-ridden and grieving, from her Bradleyville home.
Now thirty-five, she must return to nurse her father after a stroke. But the deepest need for healing lies in the rift between mother and daughter. God can perform such a miracle. But first Celia and Mama must let go of the past--before it destroys them both.
My Review - I loved the story of Celia and Danny but to get to it kind of took a while. It could have been that I was also reading a book on my Nook. But I liked this book overall and will definitely read the 3rd book of the series.
August 12, 2009
In Color the Sidewalk for Me, Celia is an adult working for an advertising agency miles from her parents. She gets a call that her father has had a stroke. She feels she must go home and help out with his care. But her mother is still living, and Celia has always felt rejected and unloved by her mother. Her brother was born when she was six, and Celia even colored a 'welcome home' picture on the sidewalk for her mom and brother. She got scolded for that! She stays to help with her dad, but the tension grows and grows between her and her mom. Read and see how God works to restore the relationship. It's a way you would never imagine! It really touches your heart in a way that you'll never forget. Reconciliation comes in God's way.
September 28, 2007
oh, this book hit SO close to home in SO many painful ways!!!
not really in a bad way, tho. it brought up, as i said, painful memories, but made me think about them in a different perspective than i have before. i think that CAN be good. i'll have to keep thinkin' on it. we don't usually like to face bad moments, nor faults and/or fears of our own, do we?! 8^( but, there are many times when we must, like it or not, and this book brought some of those to surface for me again.
ok, off to the last book in this series next, AFTER i deal w/ the laundry, and school work, and ...
not really in a bad way, tho. it brought up, as i said, painful memories, but made me think about them in a different perspective than i have before. i think that CAN be good. i'll have to keep thinkin' on it. we don't usually like to face bad moments, nor faults and/or fears of our own, do we?! 8^( but, there are many times when we must, like it or not, and this book brought some of those to surface for me again.
ok, off to the last book in this series next, AFTER i deal w/ the laundry, and school work, and ...
December 21, 2016
I love Brandilyn’s writing style. So much so, I study it. Hopefully, be incorporated into my own writing one day. While going through her book, “Getting Into Character,” I learn concepts and look for them in her fiction. –and I find it.
I enjoyed Color the Sidewalk for Me very much. It ranks on the top shelf of my most favorites.
The characters felt very real, especially Celia. And, the others from the small town of Bradleyville. It was as though I knew them personally.
This is a story I’ll remember for a long time. I’m already into the third book in the series.
I enjoyed Color the Sidewalk for Me very much. It ranks on the top shelf of my most favorites.
The characters felt very real, especially Celia. And, the others from the small town of Bradleyville. It was as though I knew them personally.
This is a story I’ll remember for a long time. I’m already into the third book in the series.
Read
December 21, 2016I love Brandilyn’s writing style. So much so, I study it. Hopefully, be incorporated into my own writing one day. While going through her book, “Getting Into Character,” I learn concepts and look for them in her fiction. –and I find it.
I enjoyed Color the Sidewalk for Me very much. It ranks on the top shelf of my most favorites.
The characters felt very real, especially Celia. And, the others from the small town of Bradleyville. It was as though I knew them personally.
This is a story I’ll remember for a long time. I’m already into the third book in the series.
I enjoyed Color the Sidewalk for Me very much. It ranks on the top shelf of my most favorites.
The characters felt very real, especially Celia. And, the others from the small town of Bradleyville. It was as though I knew them personally.
This is a story I’ll remember for a long time. I’m already into the third book in the series.
July 31, 2009
I liked this book, some things surprised me in this book. At the end I didn't want to put it down because it explained so much of why things happened the way they did earlier in the book.
I learned that every circumstance effects someone else somehow, not just how effects you. We should all be a little more aware of each other and how even small things can change everything.
I learned that every circumstance effects someone else somehow, not just how effects you. We should all be a little more aware of each other and how even small things can change everything.
April 9, 2011
Collins' story of a tenuous mother-daughter relationship as Celia grows up comes full circle as Celia returns to nurse her father after a stroke as she learns the secrets that made life unbearable growing up. It is only when mother and daughter forgive each other and turn to God that healing takes place and they both find peace and happiness.
February 6, 2010
Not exactly great literature, but a good story about assumption and missunderstanding. It advocates looking beyond yourself, and going to the source to discover why people act the way they do, instead of opperating off your best guess.
December 7, 2013
I loved the resolution of the struggles between characters in this book. We all so often feel like we know the whole story, but can only see one side of a situation. It is a heart-warming bood full of revelation, forgiveness and love.
September 27, 2016
Review
I liked the book, but felt it was slow in some areas. I would recommend this book for others. The relationship between the mother and daughter was powerful. I could see that happening in real life a great deal especially during the period the book covered.
I liked the book, but felt it was slow in some areas. I would recommend this book for others. The relationship between the mother and daughter was powerful. I could see that happening in real life a great deal especially during the period the book covered.
November 21, 2007
Excellent book! Well written, with characters you can identify with, and explores mother/daughter relationships, family relationships, small town life, big dreams.
March 30, 2009
Not as good as her other books.
Read
September 14, 2009good. different. a "christian" book, i guess one would call it, but not over the top religious. some interesting relationships formed and situations presented.
January 20, 2010
enjoyed more than the first in this series--liked the ending!
March 19, 2010
Such a bittersweet story.
August 4, 2016
I really love this book. It's probably not the most well-known book ever but it was a light-hearted emotional read by a christian author.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews