Sweet Sanctuary Books in Order

The Sweet Sanctuary series traces several lives connected by one word that keeps surfacing in different forms, sanctuary. Across a prequel and two novels, people who have been bruised by war, loss, or their own choices slowly discover what it means to find safety in God and in a caring community.

The prequel, Sinking Sand, opens the door just before the United States enters World War II. Army doctor Holden Winters once believed in God, but a devastating loss in his past hardened him. Stationed in Hawaii, he throws himself into work and keeps his heart carefully barricaded. Callie Myers, an earnest nurse from the small town of Shyler’s Point, Arkansas, comes to the islands hungry to learn as much medicine as she can so she can better serve the people back home. Holden agrees to mentor her as long as she stays silent about faith. Against the lush backdrop of Oahu and the approach of war, both are forced to reconsider what they believe about God’s involvement in human suffering.

In Sweet Sanctuary, the focus shifts to wartime New York. Lydia Eldredge is quietly raising little Nicky, the son of her addicted cousin, and will do nearly anything to keep him safe. Dr. Micah Hatcher runs a busy clinic in Queens, pouring himself out for immigrant families while carrying the weight of his own family’s past. When Nicky’s biological father resurfaces with dangerous friends and a selfish agenda, Lydia and Micah find their lives entangled. The novel weaves together a tender romance, the realities of families touched by addiction, and a subplot involving Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi terror.

My Soul Sings returns to the Queens neighborhood after the war, following characters who have been shaped by the earlier stories. A man who has learned to hide in the shadows would rather stay invisible than risk being known, and a woman whose voice has been muted by fear wonders if she has anything worth offering. Through music, ministry, and honest friendship, both are nudged toward healing and the courage to step into the light.

Across the series you move from Hawaiian beaches to New York tenements and small‑town America, meeting soldiers, nurses, pastors, and ordinary neighbors. The tone is gentle but honest about the scars left by war and broken families. At every stage, the books circle back to the idea that sanctuary is less about a place and more about a God who welcomes weary people and asks His followers to do the same.