Excerpt: 'The Legacy' by Dan Walsh and Gary Smalley

Dan Walsh, co-author of The Legacy with Gary Smalley, shares an excerpt from their new release, the fourth and final book in their Restoration Series.

First, here's the blurb about The Legacy (courtesy of Revell):

One young man is about to discover the true cost of independence.

For years, Doug Anderson has been drifting slowly but steadily away from both his family and his faith. His parents have been trying to reach him before he falls too far. His friend Christina hopes what she is seeing online isn't true. But sometimes you have to hit bottom before you're ready to grow up.

Just as things begin to settle down a bit, Doug's life takes a turn that requires every bit of faith and patience for both his family and Christina—whose growing feelings for Doug, a man who writes her off as not worth his time, keep her off balance. Will Doug's crisis finally clear his vision and help him focus on what he has right in front of him?

Dan sets the scene for us ...

Dan: With the release of The Legacy, the Restoration Series I co-authored with Gary Smalley is complete. In the first book, The Dance, we saw the crumbling marriage of Jim and Marilyn Anderson experience a new birth of hope. Each of the following three books traces the rippling effects of their reconciliation touching the lives of their grown children Tom, Michelle and Doug. The Legacy is Doug's story, a modern prodigal-son tale. Gary and I can totally relate to the challenges Jim and Marilyn face watching Doug wrestle with serious temptations as he leaves the safety of home.

EXCERPT

When Jim got home from work, Marilyn apologized that dinner would be about twenty minutes late. She'd been on the phone counseling a young girl from the resource center and lost track of the time.

"That's okay," Jim said. "I'm not starving."

She flipped the oven light on and peeked at her dish. "How did your phone call go with Doug?"

"Depends on what you're measuring, I guess."

She straightened up. "Okay. Not sure what that means ..."

He set his brief bag on the dinette table. "If you're wondering whether I kept my cool, I guess I'd give myself a solid B-plus. If you're wondering if I made any progress with Doug, I'd say on that one I probably get an F."

"Since I wouldn't expect Doug to be very receptive right now, I wasn't thinking you'd be making any progress so soon." She flipped off the oven light. "But I am glad you kept your composure. I was a little worried about that, to be honest. Especially if he talked to you with the same tone he used on me this morning."

Jim walked over and reached for her hand. "Since we've got twenty minutes, let's take a little walk. I could use the fresh air."

Marilyn took his hand. "Okay, but let's not lose track of the time. I don't want to burn dinner."

"We won't." They walked through the living room and foyer and out through the front door. "What I'd really like to do is take a walk on the beach." They headed down the porch steps. "I don't know why, but at times like this, a walk on the beach always improves my perspective."

"It does the same for me," she said. "But walking around here with you will still be nice." They turned left onto the sidewalk. "I still love living here."

Jim loved hearing her say that. "I remember when you didn't feel that way two years ago." During that cataclysmic time, Marilyn was so unhappy living in this house with Jim, she'd left. For a while, he'd thought for good.

"I know. That's part of the reason I said it. I've been thinking about that this afternoon. Maybe the Lord even put it back into my mind. I felt so discouraged after my visit with Doug this morning and so hopeless. Then I remembered how I felt almost the same way about us back then. And look, now we're in a healthier and better place."

Jim sighed.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"I wish I could bottle up some of that hope you feel right now and take a swig. Because I'm not feeling it."

They walked past the next house in silence.

"What are you thinking?"

"A whole mixture of things," Jim said. "I feel angry, for one thing, that I'm basically funding my son's sinful, rebellious lifestyle. I feel like he's taking advantage of me, of us. It's not just because of this new development with this girl, it's the whole way he's been acting since he started going to that school. This is just one more dark moment in a whole string of dark moments. It's like, it totally escapes his notice that he wouldn't even be at that school, buying those schoolbooks, renting that apartment, eating those meals, driving that car, or spending whatever money he's spent on that girl if it weren't for us ... and all the money we've saved. Even the money we're putting out now. Does that seem right to you?"

"Put that way, no, it doesn't."

"Is there any other way to put it?" Jim said. "I mean, the financial part of it?"

"I don't know. Are you thinking we should yank his funds, pull him out of the school?"

Jim shook his head. "I don't know ... kind of. If we're spending all that money, and he's totally dependent on us, shouldn't there be some accountability on his end? Should he be allowed to just do as he pleases and never experience any consequences?" Jim could tell, Marilyn didn't really have an answer to this.

"You said you were experiencing a mixture of things. What else?"

"Fear," Jim said. "Fear if I take the kind of stand with Doug that I just blurted out, we'll lose him completely. He'll harden his heart, dig in his heels, and go totally off the deep end. It could ruin our relationship forever. And he could make some of the biggest mistakes of his life trying to prove me wrong. The kind of mistakes a parent can't fix."

Neither one said anything as they reached the end of the cul-de-sac. Marilyn squeezed his hand. "We should probably turn around."

Jim agreed. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out. "It's Uncle Henry. Looks like he left a message."

"Have you talked with him about any of this yet?" she asked.

"Not yet. This is him returning my call. I'm hoping he's going to say we can meet tomorrow."

Find out more about Dan and Gary's books at www.danwalshbooks.com.