A beautiful, young widow sets out to Australia in this second installment of the life of Heléna, by Sydney author Jo-Anne Berthelsen.

The story follows on from where the first book in the series, Heléna, left off: tragically widowed in Czechoslovakia during World War II, and suffering the loss of family and friends, possessions and fortunes, Heléna sets off with other grieving loved ones, hoping for peace in a new country.

This peace does not come easily, but the saintly Heléna has peace with God and relies on him all the days of her life.

All the days of my life takes readers through the next forty years of Heléna's life (based on a true story), and the reader shares her many struggles as she finds her way in a new land.

An accomplished pianist in her homeland, Heléna is forced to work as a factory worker in Australia, and then after remarrying, she works as a cleaner. The years pass by and Heléna despairs of ever getting her virtuosic piano technique back.

However, she comes across a gracious Christian couple with a disused grand piano, not only regaining her technique and becoming a successful and much loved piano teacher, but also gaining close friends and confidantes in the process.

Her friends give her godly counsel and encouragement, and Heléna is also gracious and encouraging, continually pointing to God and His goodness despite life's trials. And Heléna has no shortage of trials. In fact her personal losses in Australia are arguably even more intense than those she was inflicted in her homeland. Yet she relies whole-heartedly on God, never wavering in her trust in Him.

The book is highly "religious" in that Heléna and her friends are constantly talking about and praying to God. As I began to read the book, I felt that this would be a setback. But in fact I was inspired to think about how my circle of Christian friends and I work at supporting, encouraging and praying for each other. Do we remind each other of God's goodness continually, and pray for each other as faithfully as Heléna and her friends?

Heléna made living as a Christian very attractive to those she encountered and I think that the book projects Christianity as attractive too.

The book was biblically quite sound, although there was an absence of the gospel. Heléna and her friends talked much about God but with little mention of Jesus and the salvation that is ours because of His great sacrifice.

She is close friends with a Jew, and they talk about God as if their faiths are compatible. Whereas Christians, unlike Jews, believe it is in Christ alone that we have full assurance of forgiveness, and a personal relationship with our good God.

All the days of my life was an absorbing and inspiring read. If it is looking for a specific audience, I think that audience would be classically trained, Christian musicians. But it also models a good response to personal trials and so would also be a good read for a wider audience.