Heartfelt story full of insight into family life and the effect of cancer on one wife, husband, and young adult child. The author does a nice job and helping you to feel what each character is going through. While cancer is an element of the story it's also a family drama about the choices we make and how we are interdependent. Good read!
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful. A moving tribute to inner strength.

What’s Worth Keeping is the story of three lives torn apart by Cancer. The disease infiltrates not only the person afflicted but everyone they know, in one way or another.

When Amy Bergstrom receives the shocking news from her doctor, she mistakenly assumes nothing could be worse. Until she arrives home to find her husband of twenty-five years had plans to leave her. Angry and hurt, she shuts down and succumbs to the necessary treatments needed to rid her body of the disease. Needing escape from everything that’s gone wrong in her life, Amy heads into the sweeping forests of Washington to heal.

Amy’s husband, Paul, is also battling demons. As a police officer, he’s been forced to witness the worst of humanity and it’s taken a painful toll. Now he’s hit with another traumatic event, that of his wife’s double mastectomy. The pressure he’s under is intense but instead of sharing his grief with his wife, Paul closes t up inside.

Instead of enjoying her senior year of high school, Carly is her mother’s night nurse while she goes through her cancer treatments. She knows she shouldn’t be so selfish but anxiety mixes with fear and resentment to create a stew of hostility in her breast.

The journey taken by each member of the Bergstrom family is heartfelt and realistically portrayed

I received a copy of "What's Worth Keeping" from NetGalley. This book tells the story of a family dealing with trauma.  Amy, the mother, has undergone treatment for aggressive breast cancer, and she inadvertently learned that her husband planned to divorce her on the day of her diagnosis. Paul, the father, is a police officer who is struggling with the memories of the Oklahoma City bombing, along with the things he sees every day in his work.  Carly, the daughter, is dealing with feelings of anger about her mother's illness and the knowledge that she may also have the gene that caused her mother's cancer. They all spend the summer separately, and the chapters of the book rotate between their perspectives. 

This book is beautifully written. The author's descriptions of the national parks Amy visits in order to heal are incredible. Each of the characters are almost broken, but they find ways to help themselves heal. I hope that Ms. McLaren writes another book with these characters--they became so real to me! This was the first book I have read by this author, and I will be reading her others ASAP.  "What's Worth Keeping" is a five-star read!

Life can have a way of chewing you up and spitting  you out leaving you a shell of yourself. I loved this book. What's Worth Keeping was so honest and gut wrenching it stole my breath at times. Made me put myself in the characters  shoes and wonder how I would feel going through what they were going through. Very emotional experience!
4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the Author and publisher for a copy of this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you very much for an early read of this fabulous book.

Amy is facing treatment for breast cancer and finds divorce papers from her husband Paul.  She never tells her police officer husband that she knows.  Their daughter, Carly, is in her senior year of high school and is trying to be helpful and supportive but is overwhelmed and starts making bad decisions.  Carly is sent to work on the ranch with Amy’s great aunt, Paul starts working on a house that he hopes they will retire in and Amy takes off to see the National parks.  It is the time away from each other that brings them all back together.  Paul retires from the police force that had become too stressful for him.

I highly recommend this book!!!

Heartfelt story of Amy and Paul whose marriage has been tested by breast cancer and his role in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing.  Their teenage daughter Carly is also trying to find her way through adolescence and watching her parents suffer and grow apart.  What happens when the inevitable is sure to happen?  You change your scenery and search to find yourself again.  That is the trip Amy takes through National Parks to be with nature and listen for her own voice again.  As she shares her journey, the story also includes the perspectives of Paul and Carly each on their own journey to heal.  Beautifully told in surroundings that awe, What's Worth Keeping is both heartfelt and healing.

A book inspired by, but not based on the author's own experiences with breast cancer. The story is told from the point-of-view of three characters. First, Amy, the woman who is recovering from her breast cancer treatments and surgery (mastectomy and hysterectomy). Her husband, Paul, is a policeman who suffers from PTSD stemming from the Oklahoma City bombing, but also from the daily things he sees in his job. Their daughter, Carly, was a straight-A student who started struggling when her mom got cancer but managed to graduate, is now at a crossroads as she struggles with whether life is worth living if she has the breast cancer gene that her mom has. They are each broken in their own experiences and it looks like at the beginning that their family won't survive all the slings and arrows from life. This book is movingly told from each of their perspectives as they each travel a separate journey -- Carly with her great-aunt Rae (I absolutely adored her) and her horses, Amy on a pilgrimage to all of the National Parks, some of which were special to her when she was growing up, and Paul, to his house in New Mexico that he always meant to fix up for retirement. As each of them follows their journey, my heart broke for them and I shed tears for all that they had gone through. But the author wrote with such compassion and tenderness and I loved all the "little things" she pointed out that helped them towards healing. The title and the author's name is what caught my eye when I was browsing NetGalley (my daughter's name is Kaya), but I'm so glad I took a chance on it. While I shed tears while reading this book, in some ways they were healing tears. The title captures what this book is about and I highly recommend it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

What's Worth Keeping by Kay McLaren is a heartwarming yet deeply emotional book. Make sure you've got yourself a box of tissue nearby! Cancer is such a scary thing. Amy, mom and wife, is dealing with the after effects of a double mastectomy and hysterectomy. Her family is also dealing with a lot a well. Deeply moving.

A broken family needs to spend time apart in order to heal. Amy, the mom, is just finished with her chemo treatments and needs to spend time in nature to feel like herself again. Her husband has PTSD from a traumatic work event (he's a police officer) and needs to work through that. The daughter has had a very hard time dealing with her mom's illness and needs to figure out her own life. A little long-winded of a story, but overall a nice one.

This is a beautiful book in so many ways.  Kaya McLaren clearly speaks from experience as she describes her character, Amy's, journey through diagnosis, treatment and recovery from breast cancer.  Poor Amy has it bad enough with just that, but when she discovers divorce papers completed by her husband Paul, she needs to leave her family and return to nature to find a way back to herself.  She revisits National Parks and Monuments from her childhood and lets the majesty of those sacred places help her heal.

In the meantime, Paul, who has never recovered from the PTSD of being a first responder at the Murrah Building bombing in Oklahoma City, must find his way out of the nightmares, reliving tragedy at every turn.  On top of that, Amy and Paul have an 18-year-old daughter on the brink of her own future who punishes her parents for their "shortcomings."  

The settings of this novel, the national parks and Great Aunt Rae's outfitting operation in New Mexico are breathtaking, and the author renders them perfectly. The story of each of the characters, told in alternating chapters give a uniquely personal insight into the emotions and physical challenges each of them face and the author is able to resolve the issues in a way that feels hopeful.  

Aside from being a wonderful story, I would recommend this book to anyone close to someone facing any of these crises…cancer, PTSD recovery and teenagers whose parents must deal with normal life amid near tragedy.  An emotional journey not often told well. Brava Kaya McLaren.

Heart breaking, addicting, and a fast read. This was such a heart wrenching read and so relatable. The story line was great, without being unrealistic. It took me a little bit to really get to know the characters, but then it was great!

This book was a pleasant surprise. It is a story of growth and healing told through the alternating viewpoints of three family members. Each has responded to a tumultuous event (cancer) and needs time to heal. What's Worth Keeping is an encouraging, lovely story that reminds us that family is the most important thing worth keeping.

This one wasn’t for me. .  I did finish it (after skimming the last third). I’ve believe many readers will like it but it’s just not the genre I enjoy. It felt a bit like Nicolas Sparks but preaching.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a subtle character and life journey story, told from three viewpoints. Amy, the wife, has recently finished treatment for breast cancer, Paul, the husband, is a police officer who has been left with haunting memories from the Oklahoma City bombing, and Carly, their daughter. All their relationships are in crisis, and each is caught up in their own viewpoint. Amy finds evidence that Paul is considering a divorce, and coming on top of her pervading struggle to deal with her new identity as a cancer survivor it is too much to handle. Carly has spent the last months acting out and being rebellious, and her parents decide to kind of hijack her off to her great-aunt’s dude ranch for a summer of helping her much loved aunt on the ranch. Amy takes off for a trip to visit and revisit a series of National Parks to recapture the feeling of peace she remembers from her youthful summers spent there while her father worked at a park. She is hoping to figure out what to do about her marriage in the process. I am sure that any breast cancer survivor can relate to Amy’s struggle to deal with her loss and learn to love her body again despite its betrayal, and this was written so thoughtfully due to the author’s similar struggle. Despite all the issues each person was dealing with, I found the story uplifting and hopeful. 
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is my first book by Kaya McLaren. I look forward to reading more.

This book will pull at your heart. It will draw you in and won't let go. You will love and hate some of the characters but ultimately they definitely will grow on you and worm their way into your heart.

It's the story of a loss. Not just any loss but a woman's loss. Cancer hits Amy hard. In a huge way. She finds out some things about her husband also. So she's dealing with a whole lot. A whole lot of hurt and anger. Fear and pain. Amy takes her life into her own hands and goes on an adventure of a lifetime. One she loves and was meant to take. To find herself and get back to her roots all in one. You will read a lot of beautiful descriptions in this book too. It will feel like you are right there with Amy. In all the beauty she sees. All the pain she feels. All her fears. Ups and downs.

This book is told from Amy, her husband Paul and their daughter Carly's points of views. How each is dealing with not only what Amy is dealing with but what each of them are dealing with also. Each has a lot on their plates. A whole lot of pain and sadness. Fears. Hopes. Each needing forgiveness. This family needs so much. Some deep healing. Some forgiving and hope. Each takes the time to find a part of themselves and deals with the loss that Amy went through. Each has a story that will touch your heart. It's a beautiful story of so much misunderstanding. Of falling apart and building back up again. It's a family story that really needed to be told.

I loved the characters in this book. I thought I was going to hate Paul but I didn't. I felt bad for him. Once I got to know him. Carly was your typical teen dealing with typical things and on top of that what her mother was going through. She was a strong kid and also weak in many ways too. She said some things that she truly didn't mean and it ate at her bad. Amy did what she had to do to survive this. She thought her life as she knew it was over.

I absolutely LOVED this book. It made me cry some pretty hard tears. Feel some pretty hard feelings. Fears were there. But the beauty in the descriptions, most of them, was just wonderful. Soul touching. The sights you will see in this book will stay with you for a long time. Some of the descriptions are bad but realistic which makes it ok. Overall this is truly a book that needs to be read.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #KayaMcLaren, #StMartin'sPress for this ARC. These are my own true thoughts.

5/5 stars and a very high recommend. Have lots of tissues handy while reading though.

The first thing that caught my interest when I was reading the synopsis of the book was that part of the setting is in New Mexico, where I live. It is always refreshing to view my state through another's eyes and perspective. 

I thought I knew the direction that What's Worth Keeping by Kara McLaren would go, but I am happy to report that I was wrong. This book is powerful and very emotional as we get to hear from three different narratives: Amy who is just recovering from cancer and multiple surgeries... who has wounds that her husband is not able to heal. We also get the husband's perspective as Paul starts on his own self journey. Then there is their daughter, Carly who is hurting and scared...acting out so much that Paul takes her to a ranch in New Mexico to work for the summer.

As their lives intersect and separate for a time, Paul, Amy and Carly embark on powerful journeys that resonate with this reader.  I highly recommend author Kaya McLaren as an author- she has the magic spark which is what it takes to tell three separate and connected stories.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Kaya McLaren, and St. Martin's Press for this temporary, digital advance review copy for me to read and enjoy. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.

What’s Worth Keeping by Kaya McLaren is an emotional journey following Amy, a breast cancer survivor, her husband, Paul, an Oklahoma City police officer who is still haunted by the Oklahoma City Bombing and their teenage daughter, Carly, a recent high school graduate who has lost her way. On the day she hears the word no one wants to hear, Amy discovers a secret that Paul has been keeping from her. As summer begins and the months of chemo treatments are over and her recovery from surgeries is complete, she escapes her claustrophobic life. She seeks to find healing, peace and clarity in the one place which she felt whole: the ancient forests in Washington State. After dropping Carly off at Amy’s Aunt Rae’s horse ranch in the mountains of New Mexico, Paul visits the house he bought many years ago with the hopes to fix it up and retire. What he finds mirrors his life and marriage, everything looks fine on the outside, but inside is a disaster. When he finds himself with more time off than he expected, he begins the painstaking but loving repairs to the house and maybe even his future. After witnessing her mother’s treatments and recoveries, Carly is terrified when she learns that the cause was genetic, leaving her with a sense of impending doom and all her hopes and dreams seem like a waste of time. With the help of Aunt Rae and a Clydesdale horse named T Rex, can Carly discover she can have hope for the future again? Will Amy find the healing and peace she seeks? Can Paul repair his marriage and find the love they used to share? 
Right off the bat, the story of Amy, Paul and Carly hits you in the face. It pulls you in and tells you to put yourself in the shoes of these characters. Like life, What’s Worth Keeping has its ups and downs. At times it was sweet and these people obviously loved each other at one time and others, the heartbreaking moments when their world has been rocked to its core. At times I wanted to shake some sense into the characters and tell them not to be such an idiot! At other times, I wanted to hug each one and cry with them. I have not had the experiences that Amy has but her reactions and fight to gain her life back felt very real and very raw. I don’t know how I would react if I were in Amy’s shoes but her fears are very real. Paul is definitely a first responder who was just going through the motions as he is constantly reminded of the horrible events after the bombing and how it shaped his life since. He must battle the demons of survivor’s guilt if he wants to regain the life he once again and to love and be loved as he did before. Carly’s reaction to her mother’s illness was the most heartbreaking as she became angry in general as she saw her future in her mother’s pain and suffering. What’s Worth Keeping is a book that will break your heart, shed tears as Amy, Paul and Carly come to terms with the events of their lives and decide whether to fight or give up their futures. I highly recommend What’s Worth Keeping. 

What’s Worth Keeping is available in paperback and eBook

.

This was such a great read. A families journey through forgiveness and life and finding oneself. I truly loved how this story went back and forth from Amy’s, Paul’s and Carlys point of view. It was a quick moving story

The Bergstrom family is extremely broken and in need of healing. Amy is a breast cancer survivor, recovering from the physical and mental aspects of her disease, along with the secret she discovered her husband, Paul has been keeping from her. Paul, an Oklahoma City police officer, is still suffering survivor’s guilt from the Federal building bombing years ago, when he spent many days and nights digging out victims, both alive and dead. Carly, a new high school graduate, scared to face her unknown future with the possibility of carrying a gene responsible for breast and other cancers, acts out behaving horribly by drinking, staying out all night and insulting her mother. Paul takes Carly to spend the summer working tours with Amy’s Aunt Rae, her chuck wagon and Clydesdales. Carly, angry to be separated from her friends for the summer, slowly begins to understand and regret her previous bad behaviors. While they are gone, Amy takes off on a road trip to Mt Rainer, stopping to visit as many National Parks along the way. Paul, left alone and lonely, begins his healing by remodeling an old house he and Amy purchased for their retirement. 

Beautifully written, with amazing scenery descriptions, I felt like I visited each park along with Amy. With the all three deeply developed characters, I felt involved and engaged in the outcomes of their stories, hoping for happy endings to such sad stories. The book lost me a bit in the middle with a little too much detail and repetition of Amy’s hikes in the parks, but it redeemed itself by the end and was truly a remarkable journey.

After Amy's recent battle with breast cancer, her family of three is left dealing with his/her own set of demons. Amy is grappling with life after cancer ("Something along the lines of whether she had enough courage to live the rest of her life with the new set of fears she had, knowing how fragile and temporary life was.") and from discovering that her husband, Paul, has been harboring a secret. Paul is struggling to overcome the PTSD triggered by his work as a police officer. And Carly, their 18 year old daughter, is confused after nearly losing her mom and wonders if cancer is in her future.

As a way of coping and since she loves nature, Amy decides to tour many of the western National Parks by herself. Since my family also has the National Park passports mentioned in the book and have visited some of the parks, it was fun revisiting them with her... and it makes me want to visit the rest! Amy's journey was an emotional one, and my heart both ached and rejoiced for her along the way. If you love nature and/or have endured a health crisis (or know someone who has), then I'd highly recommend this sweet and hopeful family drama.

Location: Oklahoma (Oklahoma City), New Mexico (Chama), and Washington (Mt Rainier)

While visiting the tide pools: "All these things just waiting for the tide to come back in. They've mastered the art of holding on... At the moment, she was still surviving in her tide pool, but anytime now the tide would be back in. The clouds were gone. The sun was back. Hope was all around them."

I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.