This story focuses on a family trying to move forward after a certain son and brother landed in prison. Younger brother Dave Patterson can’t match up with his overachieving brother Stephen. Dave winds up in some trouble and Stephen is offered a pretty nice position, a chance to run for State Representative. The story includes a wise pastor, Pastor Watters, and features Christians and the decisions that they and people everywhere must make every day, something the reader will relate to. In a funny sequence one man says he enjoys reading the Bible but can’t deal with Chronicles. He says he read it to his wife at night and by the time Shema begat Raham, she was out like a light! Dave’s father, Dr. Richard Patterson and wife Connie, just want their son home again.

Dave struggles how to face his father again when Dave is released from prison. This story focuses a lot on decisions and the consequences of them as well as the topic of forgiveness. The story becomes complicated for Dave when a shady character named Tony looks for Dave, who is going to testify against him.

The manuscript features biblical allegories such as the story of the Prodigal Son. Richard gladly embraces his son David when he finally sees him again. In one nice scene Richard asks why Dave had gone to rehab before seeing his family. Dave explains he wanted to be more presentable. “If you need your family, you just show up” says Richard. There is resistance on Stephen’s part to see his brother Dave again, another symbol from the Prodigal Son story of the older brother not celebrating when his prodigal younger brother returned home. In another example of this symbolism, the older brother believes his father will cease to notice him after the return of the younger brother. A party is even planned for Dave’s return, just as in the story of the Prodigal Son. Soon Stephen and his father feel as if a wedge is placed between them.

This story has just a little violence and it is used dramatically in a scene which brings two characters closer together. There is no foul language. This wonderful story works very dramatically while keeping it within Dove’s family guidelines. We are happy to recommend this story for ages twelve plus, and we are pleased to award “The Whisper Home” the Dove “Family-Approved” Seal. It is a story about the importance of family, forgiveness and faith. The author did a fantastic job and I enjoyed reading it very much. We need more stories of redemption and this is exactly that!