A Promise to Remember
by Kathryn Cushman
The loss of a child. Just seeing those words can bring fear into a parent’s heart. When the death is sudden, brought on by a car accident, it really hits home. But when the accident involves two young men who’s whole lives stretched before them, and they were both killed…could the nightmare be any worse?
As the book opens we’re given insight into the hearts of the parents. Chad was an only child. His parents, Andie and Blair, lived in Santa Barbara and were very well off. Jeff’s mother, Melanie, was raising Jeff and his sister Sarah on her own.
The author focuses on the two mothers. Chad’s dream was a project to raise money for a scholarship fund. He wanted to double what they’d made the year before. Andie had promised to work on it with him but when he died suddenly she no longer had the heart. Blair, wanting to remove some of the stress on Andie, decided to donate double the last year’s amount as a legacy for Chad. When Melanie heard about it all she could think of was Jeff. Where was HIS legacy? Who was going to remember him? Adding to her pain was the belief that Chad had caused the accident. The only solution Melanie can come up with is to file a wrongful death claim against Chad’s parents.
The author looks at so many different aspects of this situation. She shows what a strain it can put on a marriage. She explores what effect the sudden death of a child has on a person’s faith, and the effect that it can have when there is no faith to begin with. She brings in how vulnerable someone can be in this situation, how easily one can be talked into doing something they normally would never do. She shows how grief touches every aspect of a person’s life.
The reader is given much to think about throughout the book. Although the subject matter can be hard to deal with, the book is excellent and I highly recommend it.
Reviewed by Lynn Worley
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