Michelle Sass Aleckson’s “The Way You Love Me” Points the Way to What’s Meaningful in Life

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The picture of Minnesota writer Michelle Sass Aleckson’s golden retriever, Pippi, sums up Michelle as an author. She has a sense of humor, and she loves animals. Another giveaway might be her real middle name, Sass—and at least a character or two in this story has that disposition. My kind of person and all the more reason why I enjoyed her January 2024 novel, The Way You Love Me, set in the fictitious town of Deep Haven, Minnesota – just a couple hours northwest of Duluth, presumably with nearly the same latitude and longitude of Grand Marais. I also love the cover of this book. It looks so much like Michelle’s actual house.

Not being “in the know” about the Fox Family series, I expected to feel out of the loop with a secondary character or two. Not to worry with Michelle’s deft pen. Not once was I lost in a sea of characters from previous books in the series. A line from Edwin Markham’s poem, Outwitted, comes to mind:

“We drew a circle that took him in!”

And the Fox circle – in this case, Oliver Fox & Co., drew me in and will draw you in as well. So will lovely veterinarian, Lena Larson, who has a passion (I use the term strongly) for furballs in every (emphasis) size and category (including behavior). I so want you to read this wonderful story full of believable characters. Michelle has graciously offered a free paperback version of the book to one randomly selected person. Keep reading to find out how to enter the drawing.

Here’s the story’s premise:

Oliver Fox never thought he’d step foot in Deep Haven again. But when the custody battle for his daughter hinges on his ability to face his past, he returns home and dives back into the fray of his mistakes—starting with the girl next door.

Lena Larson has her hands full with the town’s pets, including a shelter for lost animals. The last thing she needs is the arrival of the man who once shattered her heart. But when her shelter is destroyed, Lena find an unlikely ally in Oliver. Together, they embark on a mission to find homes for the abandoned animals, and help Oliver make peace with his past.

But not everyone believes Oliver has changed, and their doubt could keep him from retaining custody of his daughter. More, Lena has ghosts of her own, and if she isn’t careful, they might destroy the surprising happy ending she never saw coming.

The road to change for most of us is not always clearly marked, let alone paved. Answers don’t always come with Yield and Stop signs. But those times when I’m standing at one of life’s crossroads and “ask where the good way is…to walk in it…to find rest for [my] soul,” as Jeremiah 6:16 says, I have found that turning a listening ear to others – people whom I trust and who have good judgment – can be the difference between living life in chaos and living a peaceful, authentic life. These life-influencing people are prevalent in The Way You Love Me too. They are trustworthy safe harbors who help when we most need them. As well, the animals in the story also have a way of conveying the direction to go 🙂

Michelle talks about why she created the characters (and their foibles) the way she did:

“I wanted readers to really get to know two people who were very different internally from what the world saw of them on the outside. Internally, Oliver and Lena both wanted acceptance and belonging. Externally, Oliver used charm and flattery; Lena tried to do things the right way and was really closed off to protect herself. Inside they were both hurting. I think it’s so easy to be judgmental and see the outside of a person and slap a label on them when really, there is so much more under the surface. I hope this story encourages readers to look deeper with others and to be compassionate and gracious.”

I have to chuckle at Michelle’s comment about Oliver’s charm and flattery. Here are a couple of lines from the book that made me smile—full of mischief, perfectly landed.

Oliver is speaking here: “If he really wanted to rile her up, all he had to say was something was ‘good enough.’ Boy, did she hate that expression. And he made sure to say it at least once a day when they were together.”
and,
“…Yeah, but I thought you’d elaborate a little more than the ‘good’ response you took so long to type out.”
Lena responds: “It was fine.”

I also appreciated Lena’s logical and rational personality. I can appreciate angry heroines who need to repeatedly vent, but Lena’s character was a bit of fresh air for me. Michelle responded to my reflections about Lena this way:

“I guess I already had a bit of a picture and understanding of Lena since she’s a secondary character in my book, Right Here Waiting (blogger intrusion: Another great read). I knew Lena was smart, introverted, blunt, and hid a lot of her passion and emotions. The trick was trying to show that in a way that didn’t make her unlikable. I hope readers can see she has a huge heart but fear and the way she was raised to be very logical and mistrusting of feelings made her come off as cold or unfeeling. We really get to see her true feelings more when she’s working with the animals. We see her compassion and ability to love as she interacts with them. She keeps Oliver at a distance out of fear and hurt, not because of anger.”

I mentioned to Michelle that there are many conversations between Oliver and Lena, but as I kept reading, I saw the work it took, amidst real pain, for both characters to get to beauty. The beauty of listening, the beauty of being listened to, of being considered. Of feeling valued. I asked her how the story’s message fit into God’s message of love for us. She responded,

It is usually in the midst of painful times where what we truly believe comes under a spotlight. And often it takes working with someone else to get at the heart of our issues, to find hope, encouragement, and the help we need. It means being vulnerable and real with each other. Not only with others, but we need to be real with ourselves and with Christ. We can’t hide the truth from Him, but we sure do try! And the beautiful thing is no matter where we are at, no matter what we have done, no matter who we are God is waiting with open arms for us to come to Him. No one understands us, accepts us, or loves us better. Everything Oliver and Lena were looking for, they had to find in God first to truly heal. And in doing so, they had so much more to give to others, including each other.

So so good.

How fascinating the world of communication, especially between intention and interpretation. I mean, when you get down to the brass tacks of it, we’re created by God to be in relationship with one another. We all want to be loved, to have meaningful friendships, whether it be with family or friends. Still, there’s a lot of work to be done. The in-between stuff, with love being the foundation.

What I appreciated as well in this story is that Oliver and Lena gave and received respect to and from one another. Some of this played out by actions and some, by words.

Don’t you think becoming a good listener, to sound a bit like Yogi Berra, Mr. Obvious himself, takes practice? To think and to process the words that another is saying. On the flip side, when we speak, what a muddle we can make between brain-thought and voice box? We think we’re saying what we mean to convey. However, the listener’s perception can be influenced by various factors (such as past relationship history, for example, filled with name-your-pain stuff or the lies we believe about ourselves). This can easily result in a nuanced understanding or misinterpretation of a message received or given. We might think we’ve communicated clearly, but the other person carrying his or her own backstory baggage perceives it differently, sometimes projecting assumptions or biases onto our words. How irritating relationships can be when the person’s perception of what you said is not at all what you said or intended.

And Michelle’s characters don’t escape this feedback loop either. They communicate with three forward steps of success and backstep two. But it’s that third step that makes all the difference. It takes you from being stuck to one step forward in learning how to communicate.

I learned some things in this story by Michelle’s characters’ thought-worlds and also by their actions. Some of her characters surprised me in their responses by saying something I would never have thought to say, given the situation. The words helped me.

Well-developed fictional characters have a way of doing this, don’t they? One particular thing I came away from in this story: How can I help, by my words, deeds, or actions, to give someone a better day? Sometimes words are really needed, but just as important is forgetting me, myself, and I, and to go to bat for that person in such a way that it could significantly matter or impact that person’s future. Life’s road is not always idyllic; the key is to ask God to bring people into your life from whom you , warts and all, can trust and accept love.

Michelle’s The Way You Love Me charmed me. I think you should give it a go and insert yourself into the circle of these cast of characters living on the shores of Lake Superior too.

Here’s a little bit about Michelle Aleckson’s real storyworld:

I’m married to an amazing guy, Jesse, and we have four teenagers. While I homeschooled them when they were in elementary school, at this point in time, one is in college and the rest are at school full time now. I substitute teach at the school (mostly in the elementary) and write during the days I’m not subbing. Living in a very small town, the kids have a lot of opportunities to be involved in sports and activities, so our evenings are busy as we run to different events, but I love it! And with one gone already I know how fast things are changing! Our golden retriever Pippi keeps me company as I write and Mango the cat lives outside but always makes it known when he needs a good cuddle…usually about the time I need a writing break anyway!

Here’s a glimpse into Aleckson’s future writing projects:

This summer I will have a romantic suspense story coming out with Sunrise Publishing. It will be a shorter novel, book 3 out of 6 in a series all about hotshots and smoke jumpers fighting a wildfire in Montana. This series is a crossover with Lisa Phillips’ and Susan May Warren’s fictional worlds. They are both phenomenal authors and it’s been fun to work on a series with them both! It’s action-packed suspense and sizzling (but clean) romance. And I’ve got three more writing projects I’m working on this year (all romantic suspense) that will release in 2025. Plenty to keep me busy!

If you’d like to follow Michelle’s future writing endeavors, you can find her here:

Michelle’s Website

Amazon

Sunrise Publishing

Barnes and Noble

Her Facebook group, The Sass Squad, where you can be kept up to date on Michelle’s books and upcoming releases.

Michelle has graciously offered to give one copy of this book to one randomly-selected commenter. If you would like to be entered into this drawing to win The Way You Love Me, please leave a comment. Michelle will choose a random winner and arrangements will be made to send the book to the winner.

Have a lovely and blessed day.