Can’t Wait Wednesday – The Baggage Handler

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. If you’re continuing with WOW, feel free to link those up as well! Find out more here.

Happy Wednesday! I hope wherever you are, you are staying warm and comfortable. Here in the south we’re jumping from a low of 16 on Wednesday to a high of . No wonder I can’t get rid of this cough! But, the colder temps are the perfect excuse for sticking around the cozy house and reading!

This week I want to talk about a book by debut author David Rawlings. I met David a few years ago at an ACFW conference. We sat at the same table for dinner and he told us about his book that was up for a Genesis award (the ACFW award for unpublished authors). It’s so encouraging to see some of these authors I’ve met the past few years with book contracts today.

In a similar vein to  The Traveler’s Gift  by Andy Andrews or  Dinner with a Perfect Stranger  by David Gregory,  The Baggage Handler  is a contemporary story that explores one question: What baggage are you carrying? 

“The Baggage Handler by David Rawlings is an extraordinary novel that lingered in my heart long after I finished it.”—Colleen Coble, USA Today bestselling author of The House at Saltwater Point and the Lavender Tide series 

When three people take the wrong suitcase from baggage claim, their lives change forever. 

A hothead businessman coming to the city for a showdown meeting to save his job.

A mother of three hoping to survive the days at her sister’s house before her niece’s wedding.

And a young artist pursuing his father’s dream so he can keep his own alive.

When David, Gillian, and Michael each take the wrong suitcase from baggage claim, the airline directs them to retrieve their bags at a mysterious facility in a deserted part of the city. There they meet the enigmatic Baggage Handler, who shows them there is more in their baggage than what they have packed, and carrying it with them is slowing them down in ways they can’t imagine. And they must deal with it before they can leave.

In this modern-day parable about the burdens that weigh us down, David Rawlings issues an inspiring invitation to lighten the load.

Amazon // B&N // BAM! // Book Depository // Christianbook // Goodreads