Abby was born April 4, 1962 to Grace Miller and Joshua Martin. Joshua, a military advisor sent to Vietnam in late 1961, before combat troops were sent, was killed when an IED exploded underfoot. Abby, was, therefore, to her back and sometimes to her face, called a bastard child, shunned by the community and denied by the Martin family. Grace, seeking a path to respectability for her 15 year old daughter, encourages her marriage to Ben Chambers, a good man, but, 15 years Abby's senior. Follow Abby through a loving, but, passionless marriage, still birth, death, divorce, finding true love and a second marriage to Allen, where she learns the true meaning of passion. 30 years later, she returns, as a widow to Centerville, TN to care for Ben, her first husband, now stricken with cancer and who has never stopped loving her, nor recovered from her loss. Together, they rediscover the love of their youth and put to rest the blame and guilt that destroyed their young marriage. Go with her as she conquers her demons and finds the peace and joy of a life well lived.
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
I love this story. It’s one of the most poignant romances I’ve come across. While Grace’s story is sad, especially the images of her lonely, worn-out and old by her thirties, her daughter Abby’s story is marvelous. It seemed especially unfair that Ben, Abby's fiance, was nearly Grace’s age and still considered a handsome man and in his prime. Life isn’t terribly fair, is it? Your writing is inspired, and your story-telling skills are superb. You make Grace and Abby’s world and stories come to life.