Book review: A Promise to Remember

The worst pain any mother can feel is the pain that comes with the death of her child.  No matter how long that child has lived, no matter how long that woman has been called a mother, the child’s death leaves a hole in the mother’s heart that nothing else can fill.

Kathryn Cushman captures that pain perfectly in her novel A Promise to Remember.

                A car accident leaves single mother Melanie Johnston with a teenage daughter and a lot of questions.  Most of all, she is left with a need, a burning desire for her son, Jeff, to have lasting legacy.  Jeff never had a chance to show the world how wonderful he was.  Melanie can’t let his memory fade away—for herself or for the ones who knew Jeff.

                Pampered housewife Andie Phelps lost her only child, Chad, in that same accident.  The knowledge that the accident was Chad’s fault causes a rift in Andie’s marriage.  Her grief over the losses has pushed her close to the edge.  She doesn’t know how to live again.

                This is not the first time that I have read Cushman’s novel.  Though I knew how it would end, I couldn’t put the book down.  Her characters felt so real.  Their sadness and hopelessness in this difficult situation brought up so many feelings from my past.  I could sympathize both with Melanie’s anger and Andie’s devastation.  I felt myself walking with them through their journey to understanding and to God.

                My understanding is that this is Cushman’s first novel.  Two additional books—Waiting for Daybreak and Leaving Yesterday—are now available.  I’ve not read them, but I can’t wait to add them to my book shelf.

                Kathryn Cushman is definitely one author worth reading.