Suitcase Sisters

Ever since they met as teenagers volunteering at a conference center in Costa Rica 20 years ago, Fern Espinoza and Lily Graden have shared a close friendship, even though they live in different states. They can hardly believe it when their teen dream of traveling to Africa together becomes a reality. It's the trip of a lifetime, but life sure isn't what they thought it would be back when they were young. Along with their suitcases, each woman brings along emotional baggage that weighs heavily on them. Yet the people they meet and the places they experience have the power to change their hearts, but only if they surrender to the lessons God wants to teach them in this unexpected land of emerald tea fields, graceful giraffes, and rambunctious elephants. Pack your bags and get ready for adventure as Robin Jones Gunn invites you on a safari of the heart in this vulnerable exploration of how to move forward in faith even when the future is uncertain.

Grace Rodelle and Claire Panderly have formed a close friendship over their love of reading. After many years and many books that provided merely armchair adventures, the time has come for them to go somewhere instead of only dreaming of someday. Their destination? Italy! As they travel through Venice, Tuscany, and Florence, history comes alive all around them while unresolved issues in their own personal histories rise to the surface. Immersed in magnificent works of art, scrumptious gelato flavors, and endless pasta variations, they find themselves more vulnerable about sharing their struggles than they ever were at home. As Grace experiences a newfound freedom, Claire wrestles with the foundations of her beliefs. It takes a special dinner party in followed by an unexpected life-changing moment on the shores of Lake Lugano for Grace and Claire discover they are not just tourists on this planet but pilgrims on a path to becoming who they were created to be. Bestselling author Robin Jones Gunn whisks you away to experience the incredible landscape, food, people, and culture of Northern Italy alongside two friends who need to be set free before they can experience life to its fullest.