Eric Steele is a promising lawyer with a bright political future, who sets up practice in the beautiful city of Nettys, Mississippi, soon after graduating from law school. He marries Alice Hanover, a beautiful Southern belle and eventually the family includes two boys and a girl, and proud Eric furnishes them with all the amenities a successful career provides. He has no reason to think that anything will ever affect their idyllic lifestyle. The story unfolds during a courtroom drama as Eric's life flashes back and forth in his heart and mind. He was in the courtroom not as an attorney for a client, but as a defendant who compromised his integrity in order to protect his family from losing the lifestyle that was the envy of many. It is the story of the fall from grace of a Christian man brought about by his own pride. It is also the story of a Christian woman coming to terms with the real foundation and construct of marriage. Things had gone well for Eric until the economy went into reverse. With a little creative financing he was able to hang on for a while. Fearing he was losing control, he went against every moral instinct he ever possessed. Eric unwittingly sets into motion twin conspiracies that will have dire consequences on his marriage, his family and ultimately his future. His faith is tested as it has never been tested before. The rich texture of Scripture appears throughout the tapestry of this story. The fall of Jericho, the parable of the rich farmer and the treachery of Jacob and Esau are all brought into modern day relevance. The question is whether the beauty, power and peace of trusting in the Lord will be enough to lead Eric and Alice through a wilderness of hopelessness and despair and into wholeness again
About the Author: Like the landing of his Salzburger ancestors in 1745 on the Georgia coast in their pursuit of a new home, Gary Wisenbaker's life epitomizes Herman Melville's observation that "Life's a voyage that's homeward bound." Born in Valdosta, Georgia, to a successful self made businessman father and mother who were both tenth generation progenies of those ancestors, Gary graduated high school from The McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he also studied piano at the Cadek Conservatory of Music. He went on to the University of Georgia and Valdosta State University where received his BA degree in history. He received his Juris Doctorate degree from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Gary returned to Valdosta where he practiced law for four years. During this time Gary changed 100 years of Georgia case law with a case he argued before the Georgia Supreme Court. Four years later he married, turned 30, and moved to Savannah, Georgia, returning to the dominion of his forebears. As a trial attorney, Gary tried and obtained the largest jury verdict in the history of Brooks Country, Georgia. Gary's professional career settled into a transactional law practice centered on commercial, contract and residential law. He practiced in these areas until the end of 2011. Gary has lectured at seminars and written treatises on real and personal property foreclosure and the rights of creditors. He has authored a column "Law Wise" and hosted his own weekly radio call in program, "Ask the Expert." Gary's life in Savannah included leadership roles in Republican Party politics. He is a past State Chairman of the Georgia Young Republicans, has chaired the local county party and ran for the state legislature. His political and social observations are posted on his blog at www.garywisenbaker.com. In 2008 Governor Sonny Perdue appointed Gary to the Georgia Student Finance Commission, a position he held for three years. Gary works with his consulting firm, Blackstone, LLC, in the areas of corporate and business communications, corporate public relations and political consulting. His other professional project as a recovering attorney is the establishment of Wiregrass Mediation Services, LLC, which provides general civil mediation services throughout the South Georgia area. Gary has three grown children, Christian, Anna and Frederick and he currently resides in Valdosta, Georgia.