The Mother’s Promise

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The Summary

In The Mother’s Promise, Alice and her daughter Zoe have been a family of two all their lives. Zoe has always struggled with crippling social anxiety and her mother has been her constant and fierce protector. With no family to speak of, and the identity of Zoe’s father shrouded in mystery, their team of two works. Until it doesn’t. Until Alice gets sick and is given a grim prognosis. 

Desperate to find stability for Zoe, Alice reaches out to two women who are practically strangers. But who are her only hope: Kate, her oncology nurse, and Sonja, a social worker. As the four of them come together, a chain of events is set into motion. All four of them must confront their sharpest fears and secrets. Secrets about abandonment, abuse, estrangement, and the deepest longing for family. Imbued with heart and humor in even the darkest moments, The Mother’s Promise is an unforgettable novel about the power of love and forgiveness.

Reviews

Sally Hepworth  ·  (Review from the author)

Dear Reader,

A couple of years ago, my brother and his wife were headed away on a vacation. They went without their two-year-old daughter. A few days before they left, at a family dinner, my brother asked me if I would be my niece’s guardian. If anything should happen to them while they were gone. A few years earlier, I’d asked same of my brother and his wife for my own children. So the request was no surprise to me. I was surprised, however, when my other brother suddenly piped up.

“What did you ask Sally for? I’d take (our niece)!” he exclaimed.

My Mum and Dad added, “What about us? We’d have her.”

What followed was a good-natured squabble. Over who would be the best choice of a parent for a child whose parents were (and still are) very much alive. What I heard was a network of love and support. And an assurance that my niece would always be loved and taken care of. I know my own children have the same assurance. It’s something I’ve always taken for granted.

So last year, when I read an article about a single mother, diagnosed with terminal cancer. She was searching for a guardian for her eight-year-old son, it caught my eye. Her son’s father was not in the picture. And her own parents had passed away and she was an only child herself. She didn’t have any friends or colleagues who she felt she could ask.

I asked myself: how does someone become so alone? 

The more I thought of it, the more I realized there are many ways a person can be alone. Some people are physically alone, others are alone in marriage or a decision. Some claim to feel alone even when people surround them. Before I knew it, I had begun a total exploration of the ways one can be alone … and the ways one can rejoin the world, even in the toughest of circumstances.

I called this exploration The Mother’s Promise. 

I hope you enjoy it.

Sally xoxo

Cathrine ☯️ rated it 3/5 stars

A single mother with a life-threatening illness and no support community of family or friends is at the heart of this story. Where does she, or any person so alone turn for help? A real-life event was the author’s inspiration for choosing this topic. Children or not, I believe this is going to be more of an issue for society in the years ahead and was interested to see where her writing would take it.

This is a very easy, comfortable read about problems that are not. Each of the four characters is dealing with serious personal issues. Each is dealt with on a topical level. As the story jumps around to cover them all and connect the threads; I prefer a less is more approach.

Overall an honest and balanced rendering. A bit too much from the daughter’s POV for my tastes but I like how she finished. The overall presentation could fit in the time slot of an inspired by true events Lifetime movie. Nothing wrong with that, I need a quick feel-good rubdown myself every so often with predictable and guaranteed results. If that sounds appealing, you will enjoy these intertwining dramas. I generally prefer my reading material to be more in-depth and personally demanding—I’m definitely lighthearted-challenged (no light beer for me). Perhaps I read these hoping to bring more of it out in me. Or feel more like one of the girls?

Wine does that. I should stick with the Cabernet.

My thoughts on This Book

As many of my friends know that I lost my mom when I was just 15 years old. While my mom died of a heart attack, this story was about a mother with end-stage cancer. The type of silent killer cancer this mom was facing was a lot different from my mom’s sudden death. Although we had 5 months with her, after her first heart attack, the loss was still very tragic.

Also, my encounter with Leukemia was a trigger to the emotions that I had been through. All the medical terms and feelings she was experiencing, was very close to home.

It’s not the same as what Alice and Zoe were facing since they didn’t have the support that we had as a family. I can’t picture what it would be like in their circumstance. 

The Mother’s Promise awaked so many feelings in me. I wasn’t sure I could read it all the way through. But, I needed to see and understand what happened in the end.

After I was done, I was happy I completed it and would definitely recommend it.

I would give this book 4/5 stars!

Here is a link if you would like to buy it off Amazon!

This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

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