The Promise Between Us tackles what can be an extremely difficult but ultimately debilitating condition: OCD. For the main character, her untreated OCD pushes her to leave behind her five month old daughter for fear of harming her. Years pass and a chance encounter places mother and daughter together. What is a mother to do? These engaging characters will keep you turning the pages to see how their lives unfold. A very poignant, yet enjoyable read. I received an advance review copy of this book from the Great Thought's Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.

Barbara Claypole White's latest novel is extraordinary, it brings such compassion, truth, love and hope to the story of a mother who suffers from postpartum OCD which led her to abandon her own child in order to save her from her own terrifying thoughts of harming her. The silent mental illness of OCD renders Katie powerless to escape her relentless fears. She can not be certain she would not harm Maise her daughter. She constantly needs to recheck her 'what if's' thoughts. She leaves home, promising her husband Callum she will never return. An accidental reunion shocks Katie as she meets Maise and recognizes she also has troubling compulsive behaviors. There are multiple layers in this story told in different points of view from each character and how each are affected. The events that collide are suspenseful, heart breaking and heart warming that made me cry, smile and laugh out loud for Barbara's unique skill for writing quirky characters with depth and passion. There are invaluable insights in this book about the nature of OCD and some helpful behaviors. Her writing always shows her love of nature as also seen in the tender viewing of a hummingbird spirit as well as her rich descriptions of gardens and forests she brings to this story. This deeply emotional novel is one I highly recommend. Engrossed in the minds of the characters, I am reluctant to leave them, as I read the last page. Thanks to the Secret Ninjas and Net Galley for the ARC of this book. Mostly, thank you Barbara...I love all of your books, and anxiously await your next one.
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I don’t have much experience with OCD but this book made me feel like I do now. I loved the characters and loved watching them develop. There were so many ups and downs in this emotional journey and it came to a very satisfying conclusion.

I really enjoyed this book- it was thought provoking and really gave me a different perspective on mental illness and the daily struggles for both the individual as well as their family. I found myself really rooting for Katie Mack throughout the book. Her courage in facing her fears was admirable and the love she had for her daughter was a driving force in overcoming other inner challenges. I was provided with an ARC through NetGalley.

The Promise Between Us by Barbara Claypole White is an amazing story that brings attention to the issue of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Maisie is a child character whose quirky personality the reader will immediately fall in love with. She is precocious and witty. Katie is the mother who left her shortly after she was born because her OCD convinced her she would harm her newborn. Maisie’s father, Callum, and his best friend, Maisie’s “Uncle J” have a myriad of issues themselves. Together, they have done their best to raise Maisie. Lilah Rose is Callum’s new wife who is expecting. All of the new situations in Maisie’s life are hurtling her toward a breakdown. Katie and Maisie unexpectedly meet and Katie recognizes that some of Maisie’s tics could be precursors to full-blown OCD. She is afraid for Maisie (whom she has not told is her daughter) and this fear propels her to get in touch with the Callum even though they have an agreement that she will never make contact with Maisie. This was an amazing story of the power of love and forgiveness, and the importance of seeking help for mental disorders. Readers who enjoyed Colleen Oakley’s Close Enough to Touch will love this book too!

“Perfection stops you from enjoying the work of what is.”
Wow!
An amazing,insightful novel that will have you picking your fingernails, laughing, crying and thinking “ OCD is a beast!” This is a fantabulous read!

Katie did the absolute worst thing a parent would do. Abandoning her daughter Maisie, as an infant. Why? The voices basically tell her “ I am the worst Mother. You are not worthy of having this precious gift.”
She resurfaces back into her family’s life, quite by accident, 9 years later and realizes when she meets Maisie, that Maisie has inherited this beast and needs help quickly .
The world as Katie knew it, has changed, but she is learning to channel and squash the nasty thoughts to find a way to help her beautiful Maisie, and in the process,works to gain the love and trust of people she never thought she would face again. "Today she has found a different kind of faith: faith in herself.”

A 10 star book, that will eat at you for days. The character’s are so real and I would love to reconnect with them in a few years and see how their lives are playing out.

Wow! This might be my favorite BCW book! She really does a. Excellent job on the reality of OCD and how it can change ones life. The characters in the book felt so real to me. I bet we've all known a Jake (a favorite of mine). Katie and Maise and their relationship is so touching. And Lilah and how she handles things with such grace. I love the NC setting, the characters, the lessons to be learned about OCD in various forms. I just LOVED this book!
I received an ARC for an honest review. Don't miss this one!!

I was immersed in this book. I thought BCW did an amazing job explaining OCD and mental health issues left untreated. The book focuses on family, second chances and forgiveness. I learned a lot and was left thinking with a better understanding.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley.

I loved this book. Barbara Claypole White has a very special gift for writing about mental illness. She is giving a voice to those with mental illnesses and helping to take to the stigma away (at least in my opinion). BCW educates and explains about mental illness as she develops her characters.

This is my new favorite book by BCW. This book is about forgiveness, redemption, family, mental illness, and love. This book starts with Katelyn(Katie) abandoning her 7 month old daughter, Maisie, and her husband Callum after having images of hurting Maisie. We rejoin the MacDonald family when Maisie is 10 years old, with a new stepmother and about to gain a sibling. Maisie is having trouble adjusting to this change. Callum is also struggling with these new changes and afraid that history might repeat itself. As we get into this book we find out that Callum has his own secrets and hasn't dealt with his own demons.

Katie has reinvented herself and is an artist. She is dealing with her OCD as best she can. Katie agrees to a docent program at the CAM and meets her student Maisie MacDonald. It is here that Katie is reintroduced to her daughter and where she sees that Maisie may also be dealing with OCD.
Through Callum best friend, Jake, Katie and Callum come together to help Maisie but only after everyone's normal has been destroyed. There is so much in this story about how loving someone so much makes you do thing you may not normally do to protect them. This theme is repeated through out this book.

What an amazing beautiful story of hope and persistence. I found this book to totally consume me. I found it to be enlightening about OCD and how it can manifest itself. I think it brings to light the need for more mental health awareness and services.

BCW once again brings a story of messy people that are believable and beautiful.

I received an advance review copy of this book from the Great Thought's Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book, its characters, and how touched I was by their stories...characters whose lives were broken, characters who showed strength in circumstances that would have defeated others, characters whose resilience and hopefulness get them through the darkest of times. At the heart of this book is family, and how different families can look, how many ways there are to be a mother and to care for a child, and what sacrifices a mother and father will make in order to save their child. Barbara Claypole White has the amazing ability to write about characters with mental illness, exposing the ugliness of the disease without sacrificing compassion and empathy for her characters. I loved that this book was written from 5 points of view; each of these characters has a story to tell, each of them have their own distinct voice to tell their own version of events that shaped all of their lives. The author has tackled the difficult, misunderstood, often-trivialized subject of OCD and anxiety, in such a way that it will educate readers without being preachy; and so that readers can really feel what it's like to be in the head of someone who suffers from this devastating illness. No punches are pulled when it comes to exposing emotions; the scenes between the characters, their conversations honest and raw. From the brilliant opening prologue, filled with fear; through all the ups and downs as relationships break and heal and break again; I read this book with my heart in my throat, pulse-pounding, tears in my eyes. I'll be revisiting this book again and again, because I will never be able to walk away from these characters and their stories. I received an advance review copy of this book from the Great Thought's Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.

The Promise Between Us spoke to me on so many levels. It spoke of Katie's immense love for her daughter. Katie has Harm OCD and must leave her baby girl and husband to protect them. Years later, after treatment and getting her life somewhat back together, Katie meets Maisie. She realizes Maisie also suffers from OCD and she will move heaven and earth to protect and help her daughter. This was a book that broke my heart from the beginning and slowly put it back together again. It is a story of immense love and sacrifice. It is a story of redemption. I received an advance review copy of this book from the Great Thought's Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.

I received an advance review copy of this book from the Great Thoughts Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.
Katie Mack, a former middle school teacher, now metal artist has a chance meeting with the daughter she left behind nine years ago. "Did I do the wrong thing? All these years I thought she was better off without me, but what if I'd never left?" As Katie gets to know her daughter, Maisie, she realizes that Maisie exhibits OCD tendencies that caused Katie to leave her all those years ago. Maisie is a sweet, serious and funny little girl; you couldn't help but smile, laugh, cry and want to hug her as she faces her fears. I was rooting for Katie's character and was happy to see how she progressed throughout the story.
Barbara Claypole White has written a beautiful story about the struggles of dealing with "the voice". This is the first book I've read by this author and I will definitely check out her other books.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from The Great Thoughts Ninja Team. All opinions are my own. This book gripped you from the very first sentence until the last. Barbara wrote about OCD with such a raw honesty that you couldn't help cheering for Katie and Maisie. This was exciting, engrossing and unputdownable. Thank you for teaching me a little about something I knew nothing about. Thank you for an absolutely heartfelt story that will linger long after you have read the last word. Happy reading.