Where The River Begins is another excellent book by Patricia St. John.
Published in 1980, this book tells the story of Francis, a ten-year-old boy whose home life is dismal at best. Filled with strife, deception, lies, and anger, his home is being torn apart by his step-father’s affair with another lady and his mother’s consequent nervous breakdown. Francis determines to join a gang as soon as they will accept him, and is well on his way when things at home completely fall apart. His mother is institutionalized, and, facing a foster home, Francis runs away to seek a home with a Christian family which he met earlier. They take him in and gently lead him to discover the source of a nearby river; as well, they lead him to the source of Christian life which of course transforms his entire being.
Although filled with more adult themes than other of St. John’s books, these very real topics are presented in a sensitive manner which allows for discussion and education about the world outside of our “bubble” lives. To a point, we strive to shelter our children from these harsh aspects of life, and yet we want them to know it’s a tragic reality for many many children. We hope to help them understand that this too is part of life, and this is why Jesus died – to heal the heartsick, to mend broken lives, to fix the unfixable, and, ultimately, to save the lost. This book is an excellent tool to do that.
Another action-packed thought-provoking book we’d love to have in our home library. Regrettably, many of St. John’s books have been edited “with language sensitively adapted to a new generation of child readers” and re-published. 
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