Hidden Diamond

Aldous prides himself on keeping everything under control. Over seventy years he has buried every memory that might disturb the careful order of his life. Then a new family settles across the street, and their five-year-old son, Dakota, begins to irritate Aldous in ways he cannot ignore. Slowly, the walls he has built start to crumble. Through God's unfailing love, Aldous is driven to confront what he has tried to bury, and he ends up on his knees, seeking God's forgiveness and finding a new kind of freedom.

The novel explores forgiveness as a way of letting go of the wish that the past had been different, so that a person can live in the present.

The author is a survivor of several kinds of abuse, including molestation. She has devoted much of her life to ensuring that this cycle of harm ends with her and does not pass to her children. The book grew out of her own struggle to heal and find peace. She holds that God loves everyone and never abandons anyone, even people whose sins have caused great harm. Aldous's character grew from her effort to forgive and to understand the forces that tormented the people who abused her as a child. For her, writing has been an important tool for healing, and she believes that forgiveness and God's love are essential to becoming whole.