The Mother's Promise
Fiction
Macmillan
February 21, 2017
Advanced Reader Copy
336
Publisher
All their lives, Alice Stanhope and her daughter Zoe have been a family of two, living quietly in northern California. 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 needs to fight for her life. Desperate to find stability for Zoe, Alice reaches out to two women who are practically strangers, but who are her only hope: Kate, a nurse, and Sonja, a social worker. As the four of them come together, a chain of events is set into motion and 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 unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters, and the new ways in which families are forged.
My review:
I'm a huge fan of Sally Hepworth's novels, and this one is definitely one of my favorites! A wonderful exploration into the mother/daughter bond, with the added bonus of secondary characters who have family problems of their own. I loved the subject of social anxiety being at the forefront of this novel. I have a daughter with a mild form of this, so I could relate so well to Zoe and her struggles. All the characters were very well drawn, and the story flowed nicely, causing me to want to continue reading well into the night. The only flaw that I could find was the story behind Zoe's father and its subsequent follow through. I wasn't a big fan of the coincidences that occurred, but this was a minor stumbling block and should not deter anyone from picking up this fulfilling story. While the ending was sad, it also held so much promise for the future that I did not get weepy, and was completely satisfied.
A beautiful story about a mother and daughter, alone with a terrible burden, but who have people who step up in times of crisis to become a new kind of family. Another winner from Ms. Hepworth, well worth the read.
