About the book
Present Day. Sarah Ashby returns to her childhood home, determined to finally follow her dream of running the family business alongside her mother and grandmother. So when her mother, Rosemary, announces to her that Old Depot Grocery is closing, Sarah and her grandmother, Glory Ann, make a plan to save the store. But Rosemary has worked her entire life to make sure her daughter never follows in her footsteps. She has her reasons--but she'll certainly never reveal the real one.
1965. Glory Ann confesses to her family that she's pregnant with her deceased fiancé's baby. Pressured into a marriage of convenience with a shopkeeper to preserve her family's reputation, Glory Ann vows never to love again. But some promises are not as easily kept as she imagined.
This dual-time story from Amanda Cox deftly explores the complexity of the mother-daughter relationship, the way the secrets we keep shape our lives and the lives of others, and the healing power of telling the truth.
Book Trailer
My Review
This was ultimately a story of redemption, of growth, and of faith. It was also about family and three generations of women that worked at keeping their own secrets from each other. Three women in a family is always good reason for drama. The story moved through the past and present, slowly uncovering the mysteries of time and the secrets of this family. Sara moved home after the passing of he husband. Rosemary held on to her own secrets while helping her mother, Glory Ann, run a failing store. The store that holds their past and their secrets. The characters are each compelling and have to work through their own secrets before sharing with others. Some things are just painful for them to process, but with prodding and the passage of time, the secrets slowly come out with other mysteries unearthed along the way, I found myself cheering for each of these women and hoping that their hurts could be healed. The ending was not as I expected, but fit the story perfectly. I received an early copy through the publisher and NetGalley and this is my honest review.
About the Author
Amanda Cox is the author of The Edge of Belonging. A blogger and a curriculum developer for a national nonprofit youth leadership organization, she holds a bachelor's degree in Bible and theology and a master's degree in professional counseling, but her first love is communicating through story. Her studies and her interactions with hurting families over a decade have allowed her to create multidimensional characters that connect emotionally with readers. She lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with her husband and their three children. Learn more at AmandaCoxWrites.com.