lenagrey7

'Resurrection Man' KZ Snow

“Souls reconstructed with faith transform agony into peace.”~  Aberjhani, The River of Winged Dreams

Dictionary.com defines a resurrection man as: a person who brings something to life or view again. Elijah, of KZ Snow's 'Resurrection Man' is a young man who is thrown out of his house at seventeen, by his heartless parents for being gay. Elijah is a smart young man, mature for his age, but still plagued by the wistful dreams of youth and is inexperienced enough to make bad choices based on those beliefs. Elijah could have been lost in the shuffle, brought down by bad circumstances; but he never gives up. Even though he has his demons to fight, he also has his human guardian angels there to support him. Between Elijah's indomitable spirit and the help of those who cared about him, he succeeds.

Even though Elijah makes mistakes, he still does far better than I would have at that age. I admire his loyalty and bravery. When his lover, Alonzo is shot in a drive-by shooting, Elijah thinks his life is over. He spends years grieving over him, letting his past hold him back. Even though he is disheartened,Elijah doesn't give up. He keeps struggling on, surviving, hoping for better days ahead. The main thing that gives him purpose, is his promise to take care of Dizzy, his lover's step-father; Elijah takes his obligation to Dizzy seriously. Even though he barely has enough for himself, he helps Dizzy, or anyone else for that matter, however he can. As Elijah gets closer to homelessness himself, he still checks up on Dizzy frequently. Everyone loves Elijah and hopes for the best for him, because they can see his intelligence, good heart, and compassionate soul.

Michael, a volunteer for a homeless program, is strongly taken with him and senses that Elijah is out of his element. Onn one of his rounds to to place where Dizzy lives, offering assistance, Michael meets Elijah. Michael has just come out of a bad breakup and his hesitant to become involved, because he knows Elijah is still mourning over Alonzo. When circumstances change drastically, it becomes obvious that Elijah can't commit, Michael and Elijah continue to be friends,but hat's not the way Michael wants it; but he has to protect his heart. Michael is a wonderful, compassionate, young man who is so guileless, so pure in heart he practically glows. He shows an incredible amount of patience when he has to stand by silently; and watch Elijah make, what is undoubtable a bad decision. Even though Michael loves Elijah, he knows that the young man has to come to his own conclusions for them to be meaningful.

This is an awesome, well-written love story, with characters so real they jumped out at me. I fell in love with almost every one of them, especially Elijah. It's theme is renewal, resurrection, a new start, making that which was used up, viable again. Elijah goes from a street kid to a mature adult during the process of leaving the past behind and going on to a more positive, productive future. Elijah clearly demonstrates that without love, there is no real joy in life. I recommend this story to everyone who wants to be reminded that, no matter how dim things may seem, that with enough persistence and support, there's always the possibility of a better tomorrow. Thank you, KZ, this one's a keeper!