I Remember Running
by Vernon Bargainer
Writers' Branding


"Lorrie Dean grabbed the gun and the phone and turned to run as her adversary sprang awkwardly toward her. When he did, she shot his right knee."

This sequel to the author's It Is Morning opens with Lorrie Dean and Andy exchanging wedding vows. Andy had searched for Lorrie Dean and finally found her despite her being in the witness protection program. The two fell in love and decided to make a lifelong commitment to each other. As the bride is about to say, "I do," two men waving guns disrupt the ceremony and drag her away. Although the men declare they are with the FBI, Andy doesn't believe them. He and Kelly Surrat, his best friend, futilely chase the car down the road. Although she has been kidnapped, Lorrie Dean is a very capable woman, and she manages to escape, but not before being raped by one of her captors. As she tries to deal with the guilt she feels over the experience, she pushes Andy away. Andy tries his best to support her but feels like everything he does is the wrong thing. Meanwhile, Kelly has had sudden contact with her mother, who has been gone for over a decade. Her mother wants to meet, but Kelly sees no reason to meet with someone who abandoned her.

Bargainer's book is best described as Christian fiction. Although there are some action scenes early on in the work, most of the story involves Lorrie Dean's struggle with victim's guilt after the kidnapping and rape. She feels that what happened is her fault and that Andy deserves someone better. Bargainer's writing is grammatically clean and easy to follow. He often uses a southern, specifically Texas dialect for his characters, similar in style to the colloquial choices of William Faulkner or Mark Twain. Included in this stylistic choice is an abundant inclusion of terms of endearment. Another feature of Bargainer's literary decisions includes detailed and drawn-out dialogue and lots of descriptive modifiers. The result is that the dialogue feels a bit overdone at times and too formal with a setting that is told rather than shown.

Faith is also an important theme in this work. The characters go through significant struggles but are reminded to lean on their faith and their friends. When confronted with challenges, the characters will often take a moment to meditate and pray and do their best to leave the concerns in God's hands, which is in keeping with committed Christian practice. Kelly and Lorrie are both grappling with forgiveness, and their shared faith and support for each other gives them strength and insight. Readers who enjoy Karen Kingsbury or Beverly Lewis may find a familiar reading experience in Bargainer's fiction. The Christian aspects of the book are not flashy. There is no direct supernatural intervention or the appearance of angels. Instead, the faith presented is more grounded in the believers' growth in their walks with God, a supportive aspect of the book which gives the characters their hope, determination, and belief that good will triumph over evil. Readers who enjoy dramatic fiction based on a Christian belief system concerning the internal struggles of the protagonists will find relatable characters whose lives may very well mirror their own.

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