The Mother's Promise by Sally Hepworth

I started Sally Hepworth’s THE MOTHER’S PROMISE with high expectations since online reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Often a text like this, with a teenaged main character, leads to engagement and even subsequent analysis and critique in Junior Theme by our students. And I did very much like Alice, a single Mom, and her daughter Zoe who must deal with debilitating social anxiety.  Alice learns that she has stage three ovarian cancer and their lives change.

At this point, I have to step out of the review and encourage readers to turn to the stunningly beautiful essay in the New York Times this past week by a real life writer (Amy Krouse Rosenthal) diagnosed with ovarian cancer:  “You May Want to Marry My Husband.” Its most memorable line?  “No wonder the word cancer and cancel look so similar.”

In THE MOTHER’S PROMISE other characters (nurse Kate, social worker Sonja) appear and begin to provide a much needed support network. Yet, these women were struggling in their personal relationships and this is where the book with its emphasis on marital conflict and potential spousal abuse became less appealing. It felt strange that the men were portrayed so negatively – as if they had no empathy or concerns beyond their own needs. Maybe that is the kind of partner that these caregivers attract (or are attracted to)?  I know nurses and social workers and I truly appreciated the effort to paint them as real people with their own lives and issues beyond the hospital, but that took away from Alice and Zoe’s difficult choices.

Perhaps Hepworth's writing (the four characters share narration) would work for adult book groups where participants would have more life experience and be interested in discussing motherhood and a mother's love? “Readers should get ready for a good, ugly cry,” said Booklist where THE MOTHER’S PROMISE received a starred review. 

Same Sky by Amanda Eyre Ward

In Amanda Eyre Ward’s The Same Sky, two narrators memorably tell simultaneous but separate stories. Carla is a young girl living in Honduras who grows up quickly when she becomes responsible for a younger brother and decides to attempt the dangerous journey to Texas to join her mother, an illegal immigrant.  Alice is a co-owner of a barbeque restaurant in Austin.  She lost her own mother at a young age, battled cancer and, along with her husband, Jake, was recently devastated once again when a potential adoption falls through. 

These two stories, full of trials, courage, and sacrifice, are told in alternating chapters.  I was totally engrossed in both, and found the contrast to be extremely effective.  At first, there does not seem to be much in common, but Ward deftly shares the internal struggles, tested faith, and learning that each narrator experiences. The Same Sky is a quick, compelling read with a powerful message relevant to social issues such as undocumented immigrants, poverty and substance abuse. Carla and Alice are not easy to forget. 

I highly recommend The Same Sky and want to also briefly mention several other titles on immigration, survival/resilience and the struggle to fit in: La Linea by Jaramillo (2008); Enrique's Journey by Nazario (2006); Girl in Translation by Kwok (2010); Digging to America by Tyler (2006); Book of Unknown Americans by Henriquez (2014) and several works by Amy Tan, plus Americanah which is our book group selection for next month.