The Rockin' Chair

By: Steven Manchester

Narrated by: Lisa Stathoplos

Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

Memories are the ultimate contradiction. They can warm us on our coldest days - or they can freeze a loved one out of our lives forever. The McCarthy family has a trove of warm memories. Of innocent first kisses. Of sumptuous family meals. Of wondrous lessons learned at the foot of a rocking chair. But they also have had their share of icy ones. Of words that can never be unsaid. Of choices that can never be unmade. Of actions that can never be undone.

Following the death of his beloved wife, John McCarthy - Grandpa John - calls his family back home. It is time for them to face the memories they have made, both warm and cold. Only then can they move beyond them and into the future. A rich portrait of a family at a crossroad, The Rockin' Chair is Steven Manchester’s most heartfelt and emotionally engaging novel to date. If family matters to you, it is a story you must hear.

Finalist 2013 USA Best Book Awards - General Fiction A Conversations Book Club Top 50 Fiction Title of 2013, Bronze Award: 2014 Feathered Quill Book Awards Winner of a Single Titles 2013 Readers Choice Award, SECOND PLACE – LONG AND SHORT REVIEWS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2013, A 2014 Silver Medalist, Independent Publisher Book Awards Winner (Spiritual), 2014 Hollywood Book Festival Silver Medal Winner - Global Ebook Awards

©2013 Steven Manchester (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"The Rockin' Chair is a fantastic read! From the opening chapter to the final page, it is a rivoting tale. I highly recommend it." (Dorothy Thompson, Editor, The Writers Life)

"The Rockin' Chair is a tightly knit tearjerker - a work better than anything Nicholas Sparks has ever written." (Jon Land, bestselling author of Pandora's Temple)

"You will feel the love, you will get angry and you may cry, so grab a Kleenex or two, but definitely read this book and share it with others-it’s that good and you’ll be glad you did." (Tome Tender)

too cliche!

the entire book is too cliche! "all work and no play" etc etc etc... it's like someone didn't have a real story and took old sayings and made a book based on them. No family would be that messed up and then put back in 7 mo...most the book was sad... I also didn't appreciate him referring to his wife as "Squaw" even if she was part Indian... it's demeaning..I have native American relatives, they would never refer to each other that way..

New favorite

I have thoroughly enjoyed this book!! It’s wholesome and heartfelt with deep family honesty as multigenerational misunderstandings untangle. The writing is beautiful, the narrative believable and the performance flawless. This was more than entertainment. It was soul food.

Really.....?

This author has a Disney view of the world. If only life’s great problems could be solved that easily. Terrible and so unbelievable.

Poignant, heartfelt, family focused.

Wonderful reading style of a beautiful story. Wishing all lives could be fixed this way.

Heartwarming Christian Fiction

Many lessons are taught throughout the story as a first and second generation family experience life. I gave four stars overall as the author got a little wordy with descriptions of sunrises, walking the land, etc. Still a timely story of families and the joys and pains of life, overcoming, learning and continuing forward day by day.

Not impressed

Weak story line. Tormented characters with little depth. Could have been written by a middle school child.

So warm & heart felt

If you only have time to read one book this year, I recommend you grab this one. This is by far one of the best books I’ve listened to in years. I listen to several books each month, so that says a lot for this book. It was wonderful!

I felt this deeply

What an amazing tale. What a heartfelt book. Made my heart feel the deep warmth and my eyes fill with tears. Beautiful. A must read

Heart warming

This story is so like many others stories growing up, so relatable that you can imagine yourself there. I laughed, and cried, and could not wait to tell my daughter she needed to read it herself.

Grandpa John

I loved Grandpa John; so wise and never too old to learn! A heartwarming story!!!