Title: Lightning and Thunder: A Love Story Filled with Miracles
Author: Albert Clark
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781541151994
Pages: 284
Genre: Romance -Non-Fiction
Reviewer: Barbara Bamberger Scott
Hollywood Book Reviews
Writer Clark arrays memories – many tender, some trying – all focused on his lifetime partner Carolyn, whom he met after viewing her from the balcony of their apartment building – both of them watching a severe lightning storm approach. At the time, he was feeling “rudderless” as a US military veteran of conflict in Southeast Asia awaiting his next, unknown obligation. Briefly exchanging a few words with her, he heard himself proposing marriage.
Luckily, Carolyn did not immediately assent, because what would follow was a carefully, steadily crafted lifelong relationship that stretched across years, continents, and a myriad of life’s mishaps and rewards – all infused with what the author calls “miracles.” In fact, he feels certain that he first saw Carolyn when he was twelve and observed a petite blond-haired girl outside California’s Disney World. Once committed to their marriage, the couple traveled extensively, revealing adventurous traits well suited to Clark’s near-40-year stint with the US Air Force, for which he had dangerous duties, routine supervisory posts and some highly specialized positions in weapons development. Carolyn tirelessly decorated each new home, maintained a lengthy career as a social worker in the most unusual locations as she faithfully followed her husband. They adopted two children –a boy, then a girl – both infants, both “miraculously” made available to them only a few weeks after applying, a process that may often take a year or more. They traveled voluntarily, too, camping out when possible, seeing the wonders of Europe, cruising the Caribbean, and discovering Alaska and Hawaii. As Clark states, these ventures were rarely planned – the two relied on “spur of the moment” happenings, luck, and the oversight of God.
Clark’s memoir is always shared by the spirit of his now-deceased partner, and is indeed a paean to her bold spirit, her absolute faithfulness and her personal strengths. Carolyn not only handled her own jobs but took on such roles as scout leader for her two children and participated in church and school events for their benefit. She never seemed to question her husband’s employment shifts, always sustaining a positive attitude through each change. Clark, now retired, has taken on writing as one of his new, self-appointed assignments. He offers this deeply personal, deeply felt story of a couple’s bonding and caring as an insight for others, indeed to anyone who cherishes the time spent with a devoted mate, and perhaps, inspired by his viewpoint, able to see their own relationship in the light – and lightning – of genuine miracles. For readers who appreciate true stories filled with hope, romance, and divine guidance, Lightning and Thunder is a must-read.