In which trek reviews A Promise to Remember

I ordered A Promise to Rememberearlier this year, when it was available for free on the Kindle limited time promotional list.It finally percolated to the top of my TBR pile at the very end of October and here I am finally telling the blog about it. The only excuse I have for such a delay in posting my review is the insane amount of hand-holding some of my students have needed over the past month and a half.

Andie Phelps and Melanie Johnston seem to have nothing in common. Melanie struggles week to week to meet her financial obligations. Andie reaches out others through her generous donations and her charity work. Melanie is single. Andie is happily married.

In actuality, Andie and Melanie do have something in common: they are both trying to deal with grief. After Andie's son Chad causes the accident which claimed his life and that of Melanie's son, Jeff, Melanie is convinced by a lawyer that she should sue Chad's parents to send a message to other parents.

A Promise to Remember was an interesting read. The two mothers are pitted against one another, not merely because of Chad's irresponsible actions, but also because of the pressures from other people in their lives.

Andie's friends and neighbors boycott the store where Melanie works, forcing the company to transfer her to a store farther away. The executive board of the cancer research fundraiser, to which Andie has devoted many years, removes her from the leadership position, fearing that Andie's presence will generate negativity with potential donors.

The plot is a little thin at times but, as I read this book, I found myself thinking over and over again, "If they had just talked to one another, things would not have gotten so out of control." I liked A Promise to Remember because it was a reminder to me of how often people hurt and stew in silence simply because they are reluctant to talk to another person, to forgive another person.