Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub. Date: February 21, 2017

With the title of “The Mother’s Promise”, and the book’s blurb stating that the mother was dying, I did surmise that I was about to read a sappy narrative. I also knew that I wouldn’t care since I most likely was about to read a heartwarming story. There are four heroines in this book. There is a single mother who has been diagnosed with cancer. Her teenage daughter suffers from a social anxiety disorder (as if high school isn’t hard enough). As well as the mother’s nurse, and her social worker, both who are also battling their own personal issues. After a rocky start (who wants strangers interfering in your life), these four females form a close bond. Before they met each was isolated in their own way from the rest of the world. Now they have a support system in one another. The expression “you can choose your friends but not your family” applies to this group.

Although this tale should have read somber since the plot squeezes in many troubling subjects including, mental illness, bullying, rape, abusive husbands and infertility, the author, Sally Hepworth, chooses to write her story focusing on female strength (think “Steel Magnolias”). By attempting to help the soon-to-be orphaned teen each woman turns out to be helping one another. So even though the book’s content is intense, this is an uplifting read. However, because it is written in this manner I think that sometimes the story is lacking the appropriate seriousness making some scenes unrealistic and certainly predictable. Still, I knew what I was getting into. I chose to review this book as I was in the mood for a storyline that would make me laugh, cry and probably bore the heck out of my husband. Women’s Contemporary Fiction is not usually what I seek out to read. But, if you are a fan of that genre you will like this one.

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I really love this book. I couldn't put the book down..

Before you start reading "The Mother's Promise" take out the tissue box. This is novel is so much more than a story about a dying single mother with a daughter who is struggling with a severe social anxiety disorder. This story tugs at your heartstrings. Prior to reading this novel I really did not understand the depth of social anxiety disorder. Hepworth did a fabulous job of bring light to this disorder and at the same time making one aware of the importance of having family and friends who you can depend on. I will be thinking about this story for a long time.

A well-written page turner. BUT. Far too manipulative for my taste. And transparent.

That being said, the book deals with very real issues. A dying, single mother. A teenage daughter with social anxiety. Family, love, fertility, marriage, secrets, abuse--there's a whole lot of relevant topics going on in this volume.

Positive for wanting to find out how it would end [though I pretty much nailed every scenario]. And mostly about empowering women. Negative for being overly manipulative [I resent being led though a novel in this regard]. Yes, I teared up--who wouldnt?!

Very much like her previous novel, The Things We Keep, is light reading with heavy content.

The lives of four women – a single mom with cancer, her fifteen-year-old daughter, an oncology nurse, and a hospital social worker – intertwine in unexpected ways in this complex tale exploring family, friendships, marriage, and motherhood.

Alice has stage three ovarian cancer, and she fears for her daughter, Zoe, who suffers from crippling social anxiety disorder that renders her almost helpless without Alice as her safety net. Zoe’s father has never been part of her life, and she has no relatives other than a totally unreliable alcoholic uncle. Kate and Sonja, Alice’s nurse and social worker, respectively, seek to help. But their own lives are beginning to fall apart for personal reasons, and as the story unfolds, each woman learns things about herself and others that will change her life and her relationships forever.

The story is narrated from the points of view of each woman, and we get to know them intimately. We experience Zoe’s paralyzing fear of everyday things, we share Alice’s losses, we ache with Kate and feel her longing, and we begin to understand Sonja’s inability to make a decision that may seem simple but never is. Their lives come together in believable, if unexpected, ways, and each character finds new strengths within herself to do what must be done. This well-written and knowledgeable book is fascinating, satisfying, and absorbing.

Great story and easy to read. Look forward to reading more from this author

The Mother's Promise delves into the lives of a single mother,Alice and her teenage daughter, Zoe. As Alice's life is threatened with cancer she has to make decisions regarding custody for Zoe. Up until now the two have made a go of it on their own with no friends or family to speak of as a backup so they have to rely on the help of Alice's oncology nurse, Kate and her social worker, Sonja. Each of Sally Hepworth's characters are rich with humanity, flaws and challenges and I felt hopeful that each of these great women characters would survive their personal struggles. Reading about social anxiety, abuse, rape, alcoholism, Crohn's Disease, infertility and cancer provided insight on the real challenges each present and I took the emotional journeys with Alice as she loses ground with her health, Zoe as she learns tactics to fight anxiety and comes into her own as a teenager, Kate as she feels alone surrounded by family as she battles infertility and Sonja as she gains courage to stand up to her husband. The story is beautifully woven and I couldn't put it down as I read through my tears.