No Dark Valley

Derby #5

by Jamie Langston Turner

"Award-winning author Jamie Langston Turner has developed a loyal following of readers with her well-developed characters who realistically struggle with matters of life and faith. When Celia Coleman's grandmother dies, she must return to the small town she hoped never to see again. Her memories of her grandmother's home and church--and of her own behavior there--are not happy ones. The man next door is struggling with guilt over his own past, and Celia wants nothing to do with him. In this masterfully written, inspiring story of reconciliation, both will come to recognize the vastness of God's grace.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Contemporary, Novels, Audiobook

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Jamie Langston Turner is the award-winning author of seven novels, including Sometimes a Light Surprises, Winter Birds, and Some Wildflower in my Heart, and has been a teacher for more than forty years. She is currently a professor of poetry and creative writing at Bob Jones University. Jamie lives in Greenville, South Carolina, with her husband.

Reviews

[Allison Anderson Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd time through, and as always, I love the whole impetus behind Mrs. Turner's writing - to show that normal Christians can (and should) have an impact on the world around them, even in normal daily events. My one complaint is that I read this book right after reading "Some Wildflower in my Heart" and noticed a lot of similarities in characters and certain wordings and phrases. Both books talk about how "cliche" their stories are and how a "nobody would ever read a book that went like this..." Which is ironic, obviously, but maybe a little overused? That's my two cents, I'm no literary professional, but something I noticed since I read these two books in a row. I've read all her novels and think them to be very well-written and interesting.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

*Spoilers*

We spent so long in Celia's head feeling her pain, and when she finally has her epiphany and believes in Christ, we don't get to see it "on screen," we are just told about it in summary from another perspective. That disappointed me.

Also, it was such a long book that talked about so many details of her life that weren't really relevant to her big picture story and left out others. I would have liked to have seen her babysitting Maddy from her perspective since it should have cause huge amounts of anxiety, but we don't see any of it.

The POV character switches about 60% through the book, but it would have been much better IMO to have them switching back and forth the whole time. I figured Bruce was Kimberly's brother from the first scene they were introduced anyway, as I'm sure a lot of readers did, so it wouldn't have ruined that for me.

All in all a good book with a good message, just some things that I would have liked to have seen and felt were missing.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good, but long. Both of the main characters would tell their story in a stream of consciousness type of way--so that it could take half an hour of listening to get through a simple dinner scene because they would stop to comment on the family eating at the next table and make up a story about them. For the patient listener the story is wonderful though, about a girl named Cecilia who after her grandmother's death fulfills her promise to go back home for her funeral. In the process she rehashes her childhood and painful memories of the past, eventually finding redemption through a litany of old hymns, an artist, a tennis club, and an annoying next door neighbor. The narrator was perfect for the story as well.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d give this a 3.5. Despite the sheer wordiness of this novel that became frustrating, this one will stay with me for a while.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Celia is a director of an art gallery. Having lost her parents in an auto accident as a young teen, she spent her tumultuous high school years with a emotionally hardened but determined grandmother, a grandmother who not only has very high standards morally but expects Celia to follow suit. When Celia rebels and leaves for good, she finds herself in later years regretting her treatment of her grandmother and wishing she had another chance.

Fast forward several years, and now in the beginning chapters of “Some Dark Valley”, Celia finds herself back home again to attend her grandmother’s funeral and close up the house she inherited. As she reaps what she has sown in the mistakes and moral failures of her life, Celia has decided to keep her personal relationships brief and distant. Although always longing for a home and family of her own, she closets her real self within, trying to find comfort in her own ‘space’.

“ 'Face your fear.’ That’s what Todd has said that came back to her now. He had tried repeatedly to probe into her past, wanting her to ‘open up her shell,’ as he called it, but she had always managed to elude his questions.’

Celia has some tough memories to overcome in her past.

“... she had remained very still with her eyes closed, picturing herself standing in a large field, digging for more pleasant memories with a little silver pickax. Over and over she lifted the pickax and brought it down. Surely there were multitudes of other good memories underneath all the bad ones. She even imagined that she heard the soft plunging sound of the pickax as it sank into the loose soil, little glints of mica and quartz chips flying up with every stroke.

And, happily, she at last began to see the pickax uncover what she took to be more good memories...”

Like most of her novels, the main character will have some hoops to jump through in order to find a resolution to the hardships in her life.

The reader has to decide whether Celia’s fears and avoidance of her grandmother are legitimate, or not.

“After they ate that night, Grandmother took out some plastic grocery store bags and divided up all those berries, every last one. Then they walked up and down Old Campground Road delivering them to all the neighbors. Grandmother kept one bag for herself. One bag out of probably twelve or fourteen. The next day she made one blackberry pie and two jars of preserves. Not much to show for all that hot work under the July sun.”

This book started out a little slow for me, but soon picked up and I found myself really wanting to know if Celia would ever be able to come to terms with her grief and remorse. This author really has a talent for bringing characters to life and not glossing over the hard questions we all struggle with. Her honesty within the context of fiction is not only refreshing but saturated with authentic snapshots of the tragedies within life.

I think I would have given this book five stars had the point of view not changed from Celia to Bruce in the second half of the book. I found myself wanting to see the resolution more from her viewpoint as I had bonded with her throughout the book.

‘Some Dark Valley’ comes close to being one of my favorites from this author. Although called ‘too introspective’ by some, I thoroughly enjoyed the soul-searching that the main characters undergo in this latest book I have read. Jamie Langston Turner is fast becoming one of my favorite reads (and I am obviously on a JLT kick!)

Eldeen, the one of-a-kind quirky character who never stops talking resurfaces, but only briefly, in this latest episode in the Derby Series. As Celia meets and interacts with her neighbors, tennis team players, and cautiously begins to make friends, the reader is pulling for her all the way, hoping that in the end, Celia will find closure and contentment.

The message (or theme if you will) of this book can be found in the last few chapters.

“Given sun and rain, a flower will bloom. To the human heart, love is irresistible. Though I have not solved the mystery of suffering, I have felt the healing work of love.”

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have liked every single one of her books. She's a great author

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the wait...

...in more ways than one.
I got this book in 2015 as an ebook. I started it...then a couple of ebooks I had put on hold came available, so since I could read this one any time, I put it aside & read the ones that had to be returned. Meanwhile, through Boob Bub & subsequent similar venues, I had added to my ebook collection. I had had regular books I had put on hold become available. Pretty soon, I had forgotten about this one. So here it is 5 years later; I'm looking through my library of ebooks and see that I had started this one. I had to restart it, of course, and pretty soon I was hooked. Honestly, I had trouble putting it down.
I didn't grow up in an evangelical Christian home, but in a mainline denomination home. I didn't know there were groups of Christians who thought movies, dancing, secular music, and card playing were just as bad as I knew some held smoking & liquor of any sort to be, until I went to uni. I had met this guy who knew how to get my soda pop out of the thieving vending machine, & we got to talking. This was back when guys weren't allowed in girls' dorms...when there were "panty raids" sometimes...so as he was gettng hints to leave, he asked me out on a date for 2 days from then. After the successful date, he introduced mento his 5 guy friends, all of whom were astounded that my denomination actually deliberately held dances in the "fellowship hall" for teens...had costume parties for Halloween...whose members held card parties to raise money for the churches...condemned drunkenness but not alcohol in moderation...didn't throw smokers out of the church...had no problems with movies. For my part, I was surprised that they all considered their card games a rebellion! And so began an extensive "cultural" exchange of sorts, esp since, starting at 16 in the 60s, I had decided to see if all roads led to heaven (except, of course, for the Church of Satan, whose "bible" I read out of curiosity) and had investigated the major world religions (as well as some minor oones). Eventually, one of those friends got me to attend his church where I finally "got it" and got saved. So, while I was questioning every facet of Christianity & studying world religions, they were sneaking out to movies, playing cards, etc., all of us rebelling in our own ways.
Pretty much, we all came to (or back to) Jesus, and I got an easy A when I selected a course in world religions as an elective!
But the process is about the same. By the time I came to Jesus, I was deeply into my father's religion, the occult - anything and everything, even though he wanted very little to do with me. I had concluded they were all the same, & if they all had screeds of rules, I was going to get sone power with mine. Trust me, that is a very second rate power compared to what God gives us in Jesus. And of course, when I realized how wrong and rebellious I had been, I was amazed that God not only accepted me, but allowed me into His kingdom, as unworthy as I was.
This is the story of 2 very different people who follow paths not too dissmilar to mine. They are going by rote...as in the occult, using their own efforts to get what they want from God, which is witchcraft in its purest form. The one is not a believer & the other was raised a "fundie." The 1st has no reason to know God's ways; the 2nd has been exposed t them all her life but like me, didn't really "get it." He finds God, & she finds her way back to Him. They learn no effort can get you to heaven, only Jesus' sacrificial death can. Anything you do that is "Christian" is in gratitude for His saving grace; plus He sets up good works for us to walk in them, not as a demand for entry to heaven. The only ones reminding us of a need for continual forgiveness for the same sins for which we have confessed and received forgiveness are ourselves, the devil, and those "church lady" types who are unsaved or don't "get" grace, and are trying to show God how much better they are than someone of whom they disapprove, or of whom they are afraid.
I loved how the books showed her evolution and his, from their unique backgrounds to reliance on God & the freedom of His grace. If you have ever wondered what the big deal is about Christianity, read this book and find out. Whatever you get from my tale is a bonus.
PS I never intended to get married but here I am coming on 47 years of marriage to one of those card playing sinners to whom my date introduced me, with whom I was friends then a fiancee for 3 years before we married.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me share with you about this whole series, not just this book. I first read the series two decades ago, when I was in a completely different season of life. I loved it then—I love it now. My first time reading this author, I was refreshed with how realistic she was as a Christian author. Back in the day, I had read a LOT of Christian fiction, and was tiring of the triteness and predictability of the plot lines—lots of fluff. Mrs. Turner mostly writes from the viewpoint of unbelievers looking in on the ordinary lives of believers. Especially eye-opening to me was the impressions that unbelievers have of practicing Christians, and the amazing difference it can make in someone’s life simply rubbing shoulders with someone who is living out a life of grace. I love how she works through the stereotypical assumptions that folks have about committed Christians and how quietly, compassionately, and bravely living out our faith is exactly what God calls us to do. For lovers of art, music, and literature, you will love all the rich references to other great works that are woven into the storylines. Read them all! You won’t be sorry!

[Karen Britton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jamie Langston Turner has to be one of my favorite authors. I love the in-depth way she develops her characters. She deals with real life issues but handles them with grace. I also enjoy how characters from other books pop in for cameo appearances.

This book centers on Celia, who works in an art gallery and has escaped what she feels is a straight jacket religious past. For reasons that the reader learns, Celia is consumed by bitterness towards the grandmother who raised her. Slowly she comes to realize that her past isn't what she thought it was.

During the course of the book, the author weaves in her love of the arts, in particular, the visual arts. Other of her works seem to focus on poetry and literature.

If you have not read any of her books, you are in for a treat. Be prepared to settle in for a long visit and enjoy getting to know some very quirky but lovable characters.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could use this book to make a list of literary devices I dislike. First, the author continually (As in, multiple times per chapter) refers either to the fact that this would make a great story for a book, or that it would not, going so far as to put, in italics, the words she would use if it were actually written in a book... yuck!!
Second, the hymn references, while meaningful in moderation, quickly become a distraction, and seem to be forced into the storyline.
Finally, the author uses flashback in a frustrating way, leaving the dialogue hanging for several paragraphs or pages while the characters wander off in their brains to a real or imagined corollary.
clean, but useless.

[Sarah W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won't lie. I really disliked this book at the beginning. It was assigned to me to review for our church library and I'm glad that I kept through until the end. Overall I would say it was a good book. I definitely got a little bit tired of hearing every single one of Celia's thoughts, and I think a lot of the first section of the book could have been condensed to the more key internal dialogue, but I really liked how the author brought everything together in the end. I would probably recommend to somebody who enjoys Christian fiction (which I usually do not). If you enjoy internal monologues then this book is for you!
Read and reviewed for my church library.

[Joy Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book via audiobook and that may have been why I had a hard time getting into the story. If I had been actually reading a physical copy it might have been easier to stay involved. I did enjoy the references to all the old hymns interspersed throughout. I grew up with those songs in church and they still hold a dear spot in my heart.

[Sylvie Vanhoozer · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Most people don't realize how much they count on their feet, you know. I'm sure thankful for mine, Woodmont Street's my mission field, you see.... Some missionaries go to Africa and Japan and Brazil and what have you, but no, God called me to go up and down Woodmont Street.... And all ground's holy ground, I say. I'm marching through Immanuel's ground, right here in Derby!" p.72

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of a lot of Christian fiction that has romance in it. Granted there wasn't a ton of it until close to the end so I wasn't "gagging" through the entire story. I enjoyed reading about Cecelia and her relationship with her grandmother and her coming to age and how she skirted Satan's hold.

[Jeannette Harbottle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grace greater than all our sin.

Jamie Langston Turner 's knowledge of art, poetry and literature and her ability to craft words into explicit cameos, makes this book immensely readable. She takes emotive topics and handles them with sensitivity and grace.

[lavera kopacz · Rating 3 out of 5]

No dark valley has a few dark valleys.

This author is very wordy. I like her work. I suppose if you take words out you wouldn't have much.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Will try to listen to it again in the future.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

inspiring and timeless truth

I wish for more JLT books. Character development, grace of God, and heart tugs from the past are beautifully portrayed.

[Gina King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite novel but still a pretty good book.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read books by this author before that were excellent. This was not one of them! Way too many details that had nothing to do with the story line. Disappointing.

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Celia Coleman's parents died while she was in high school, so she went to live with her grandmother, a strictly religious woman. Celia is a rebellious teen, always pushing boundaries to the limit. Disappointing her extended family when she attends a secular college, Celia doesn't return to her small home town again until her grandmother's funeral. This event precipitates a time of introspection, and Celia begins to look at the way she has run from close relationships, especially from one with God. A mistake in her past continues to haunt her, and although she has a good job and a decent life, Celia feels something is missing.

Bruce Healey meets Celia and is attracted, despite the fact that she seems to bring out the bumbling, irritating side of him. Bruce's relationship with God is fairly new, but he's on a path of discovery and forgiveness. Can Celia and Bruce find common ground and forge a friendship? Can Celia find her way back to God?

The novel takes an interesting look at journeys through a dark time in life to the light of God on the other side. Although the general themes of the book are intriguing, it suffers from an over abundance of description, which becomes tedious and drags the pace to a slow crawl. Celia's story is engrossing at first, so that the reader can sympathize and possibly empathize with her struggles. Yet after 200 pages of a great deal of inner strife (and not much dialogue), the resolution of Celia's problem is only mentioned as an afterthought, and never properly dealt with in the story. This also happens with Celia's faith journey and with Bruce and Celia's relationship - the reader never gets to see the progression of their romance, so the final chapter, although sweet, rings false.

I have read many books by the author and have always enjoyed the storylines. This one seems in need of editing to improve the pacing and allow the reader to experience the story rather than read about it after the fact. But the message is uplifting, so those who like Christian fiction will find something to appreciate in No Dark Valley.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened on Audible (Included).

This book has two main characters—Celia and Bruce. It is a testament to the author’s writing skills that Celia was a pretty cold and unlikable character, but one a reader feels sympathetic toward because of circumstances in her life. Bruce, though, seemed like a likable guy at first, but since the reader is privy to his every thought, turned out to be somewhat arrogant and judgmental when his story began to unfold.

The author puts the reader inside these two character’s heads—and this is one of the weaknesses of the book. There are often so many thought lines going at once that it is difficult to follow the actual story line. Much of these character’s thoughts simply did nothing to advance the story and could have been edited out.

I did not mind that the story was told from both character’s perspectives. A good portion (at least 60% or more) of the story focused on Celia’s life and struggles. Since I’ve read two other books by this author, I know that one of her strong suits in storytelling is telling the character’s story completely. But for some reason, right at Celia’s turning point, Bruce’s story started. Then Celia’s transformation gets a few sentences somewhere near the end. Given that Celia’s character was one I sympathized with as a reader, it was rather a let down not to be taken through more of that transformation process in the story. I think her story (the guilt she suffered from having an abortion) is so relevant that many readers would have benefitted from being shown her transformation to hope and healing. As it was written, however, a reader could easily think Celia’s transformation was due to a romance with Bruce, instead of the love of God and the light of the Gospel.

[Rachel M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm inclined to give this book 2.5 stars. It kept me reading, which makes me lean toward a 3, but it also had some corny and unbelievable elements, which makes me slide backward to a 2. She might have been attempting to be coy with all of the "if Celia were a character in a book, how would she describe this moment"s...but they got on my nerves. And then, at the end, when two characters discuss the plot "as if it were a novel" and talk about how cliche it would be if they tried to write it all down, and how every character might seem like a throw-back to Jane Eyre or Jane Austen - all of this seemed like a thinly-veiled apology for certain drawbacks of the book.

That being said, it was a good story of forgiveness and mercy. Celia's character was memorable, and her journey from bitterness and hurt to forgiveness and love was believable in that it was a very gradual process. She didn't have just one moment of total enlightenment and then experience a sudden conversion. I enjoyed how Jamie Langston Turner showed the changing of Celia's heart in little moments of inspiration, or in her encouters with all of the various people in her life.

One irony of the book is that, for all of the detailed descriptions of minute events in Celia's and Bruce's past (many of which I think could have been omitted without having any effect on the story), Turner left some of the most important moments untold, or told from retrospect - for instance, when Celia finally takes the step of conversion, she tells about it after the fact to another character in about two sentences. I think that such a pivotal turning point deserved more notice.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

First read when the book came out, so 2004 or 2005. 3rd person narration, but tells the first half of the story from her POV, and the second half of the story from his. Very clever, as we discover slowly what we didn't know. I liked these characters very much.
Re-reading now (2014) on my Nook.
6/17 Just finished. I still found it a pleasurable read. I get the feeling that the author decided in advance to stick strictly to the narrative and POV choices she made early on, no matter how clumsy. The last 50 pages especially felt a bit flat, as if we were getting the story third hand. It is a lovely story but I don't call it a completely satisfying piece of storytelling. On the other hand, since the story was largely the backstory of the two protagonists, telling it this way avoided clunky repetition or waiting too late in the story to learn vital information. If I could change one thing, I'd allow the Valentine's Day chapter to be told by an anonymous omniscient narrator, rather than still from the man's point of view. At least we'd have a scene with a more natural flow of dialogue.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather mediocre

Rather mediocre

The book kind of started out as annoying, like when the character decides to put what she just into a book. That annoyance fades only to be brought in the third part of the book. Another thing that was irritating was the incessant "I am getting too old not to be married/ maybe I am too old too find anyone to marry". Also in the third part the main characters were switched and the new character did not seem to be as developed as he should have been. As for the first character, her spiritual journey which agonize through in the first two parts is brought to an unsatisfying and abrupt finish. All that being said, I did read the whole thing( I skipped any boring parts) but that was mainly because I liked the first two parts and read the more aggravating third and fourth parts only to see if it ended as I thought, which it did.

[Debra Torgerson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay read

A story of two people who made choices in their lives that caused them regrets and how that affected their lives and how God brought them to himself and each other. I felt it to be somewhat drawn out. I found myself wondering when a chapter would end. I didn't feel that the Grace of God was presented as well as it could have been. I did like how the author showed what they where thinking and felt I believe we can relate with our own regrets, and that God is our answer. The Lord's Grace has took care of all our regrets ,our shame, our mistakes, our religiosity through His love sent down to us in Jesus. I felt sad that the Grandmother and others were in a religion of judgement and condemnation which is probably why the Grandmother couldn't show Celia how much she loved her in a way a hurting teen could receive. Not sure if I will read other books by this author or not.

[Dodger · Rating 5 out of 5]

One thing about Turner's books is that the featured characters grow through their own actions and learning to depend on God.
Here is another tightly closed off woman who is constantly in mental anguish for her past deeds, but slowly she learns to love again, but more importantly she learns to forgive herself.
This author writes about art an exorbitant amount in this story, but I love art so I was perfectly fine with the subject.
There's romance in the story, but not as silly as most Christian books.
I loved it.

I just reread this book in 2024 and I realize I don't like Bruce at all. I don't think he's a good match for Celia, and so he's one of the first people I find disappointing and annoying in all her books. I really enjoyed Celia's story and inner monologue and how she grew as a person and found Christ in the end.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second time through this book. A story about a young woman who has turned her back on God, blaming Him for her parents' death and despising her grandmother's simplistic, practical faith. In God's sovereignty, He puts people in her life who show her what a real relationship with Christ looks like, and she 'enters into the joy of the Lord.' Turner writes well, and I particularly enjoy the characters she creates. My appreciation for hymns continues to grow, and I liked the way the characters think of hymn lyrics and link them to events in their lives.

[Andrea Stoeckel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Celia, a single woman with a fundementalist church past, has left both the church and her smalltown Georgia upbringing to start over.

Bruce, a single man, has left his devil-may-care lifestyle to live in the basement apartment of the house his sister has just purchased.

This book is unabashidly and unapoligetically riddled with cliche. It's also very long, possibly 2 books worth long. A bit Biblical parable, a bit Jane Austin and a lot of forgiveness and searching later.....

It's a sweet book I woukdn't have been intrigued by had it not been a freebie.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

So apparently I read this in Aug of 2006 and never realized it!! Omg. I do have a rotten memory. I downgraded it from a 4 to a 3 because it was too wordy. I guess I am too impatient now. Celia is a 30+ young woman who had to go as an orphaned teenager to live with her simple, God-fearing grandma. She turns away from faith, severs the relationship, has an abortion and now is lonely and works in an art gallery. She comes home for grandma's funeral. It has a happy ending: faith and hunky Christian man to love.