Just As I Am (Ohio River Valley Series Book 2)

Carter has survived the horrors of the Civil War, but returning home does not mean the war is over for him. Months spent suffering in a prisoner-of-war camp have left wounds no one can see. Though he longs to put the past behind him, memories of hunger, fear, death, and captivity continue to haunt him, leaving his spirit fragile and his future uncertain. 

Upon his return, Carter marries Effie, hoping their love and the promise of a new life together will help restore the man he once was. For a time, their marriage offers him the peace he desperately needs. But when Effie loses their first child to miscarriage, the tragedy awakens all the grief Carter has tried to bury. 

Unable to cope with another devastating loss, Carter sinks deeper into depression and turns increasingly to alcohol for escape. Effie struggles with her own sorrow while watching the man she loves drift farther away. Carter’s family and friends do everything they can to reach him, offering encouragement, patience, and prayer, but their efforts seem powerless against the darkness consuming him. 

As Carter’s drinking worsens and his anger and despair threaten the life he and Effie have built together, she is forced to consider a choice she never imagined making—whether loving Carter is enough reason to remain in a marriage that is slowly breaking her heart. 

With his marriage hanging in the balance, Carter must finally confront the wounds he carried home from the war and decide whether he will continue fighting his battles alone. 

Can he surrender the pain he has held so tightly and allow God to heal his broken spirit? And after all they have endured, can Carter and Effie find their way back to each other before their love becomes another casualty of the war?