Reviews

The Promise (Book Review)

The Promise by Lucy Diamond is a touching story about love, loss and the importance of family. It deals with the emotions of grief, guilt and sadness in a very real way, but also gives love and friendship the chance to shine through.

The Promise

Zoe has lost her husband Patrick, and the story gives us a very real look at the pain this grief brings to a widow. It gives us an up-close look at the different emotions felt over the weeks and months when you lose someone who is so central to your life. This is not limited to Patrick’s wife either, we’re also shown how his children are coping and what kind of feelings they are having to deal with in the wake of this monumental loss.

It gave me a few sleepless nights when my own mind played what-if games on me, bringing into sharp focus just how important my husband is in my own life. Not only does The Promise offer you insight into this grieving process and everything that one would face during this traumatic time, but it also serves as a reminder to treasure your own loved ones and to hold them close every day.

The book centers around Zoe, Patrick’s wife, and how she struggles to adjust to the new demands in her life without her husband’s help. Her life is derailed when she loses him, but she stoically continues because as a mom to three children what else can she do. But we can see she’s slowly starting to unravel, and when Patrick’s brother Daniel offers to help she jumps at the chance to hand over some responsibilities to him.

Dan, the other main character, is dealing with his own demons, he’s still haunted by the last fight he had with his brother on the night he died. As you delve deeper into the story you’ve given more information about what unfolded that fateful night and a clearer understanding of his grief emerges. When given the opportunity to help Zoe he tries to make amends in an effort to quiet his guilt, but sadly uncovers some surprising information about his brother along the way. Torn between protecting his sister-in-law and facing the truth about who Patrick really was, his new plan to dig the family out of their grief blows up spectacularly.  The question is, can he right the wrongs of the past and find a way to move forward, or is it too late now that Patrick is dead.

The Promise kept me captivated as the story progressed, the different layers of the characters were slowly peeled back and I grew fond of them notwithstanding their many flaws. Despite it being a sad story in essence you can also expect to find happiness, hope and even redemption within its pages.

The Promise is available for a recommended retail price of R330. I would assign a trigger warning to this book for loss and infidelity.

Thanks to Pan Macmillan for sharing this book with me.

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