All children’s book illustrator Claire Turner ever wanted was to be a mother. After six years of trying to conceive, she and her husband, Josh, have finally accepted that she will never be pregnant with a child of their own.Yet once they give up hope, the couple gets the miracle they’ve been waiting for. For the first few months of her pregnancy, Claire and Josh are living on cloud nine. But when … nine. But when she begins to experience debilitating headaches, blurred vision, and even fainting spells, the soon-to-be mother goes to the doctor and receives a terrifying diagnosis. Since any treatment could put their unborn baby’s life at risk, the Turners must carefully weigh their limited options. And as her symptoms worsen, Claire will have to make an impossible decision: Save her own life, or save her child’s?
USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Steena Holmes brings us an unforgettable story of one woman’s courage and love.
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This is my first Steena Holmes book. I’ve heard that she’s a master of family stories, and this one certainly hit that mark. It is literally about a life and death decision. Few writers can do that with such sensitivity and realism. I will definitely read more by this author.
Although I enjoyed this story and the journey to the various places depicted, I felt it was too long and the ending too abrupt. There was so much foreshadowing, I knew what was going to happen. But it’s still a good story and worth a read, so it’s a solid 3.
I’m in love with all of these characters, felt like I was right there with them with every turn. SO good, highly recommend!
This book is heartwarming and about so much love. It has a good back story and is adventurous too. A quick but enjoyable read.
Such a wonderful book! The characters are so well written that they seem to come alive right off the pages. Claire and Josh were most certainly soul mates and had a love most people only dream of having. With Claire’s tragic past, she was strong enough to continue living and drawing illustrations for her husband’s books. After trying so hard to have a child of their own, Claire finally decided that it was just not meant to be and threw herself into her illustrations for her husband’s children adventure book. That’s when tragedy strikes. Not to give anything away, I will stop there but I promise, you will not want to put this book down. Oh, and be sure to have a drink in hand and a full box of Kleenex at the ready because both will be needed. I most definitely recommend this book and the follow up book, Abby’s Journey. You won’t be disappointed!!!
Wow! I just loved this story.
When Claire cannot get pregnant after 6 long years of trying, she and Josh decide to take a vacation to “throw away” their past dreams and move on to “new” memories.
They go to Europe and begin a new adventure.
Upon returning from this trip, Claire is exhausted. How can this be? When she goes for a check up, to her friend and MD Abigail, Claire gets the best news. They have gotten an unexpected gift and are having a baby.
However… as time goes on, she and Josh have another hurdle to overcome and need to balance “life and death” in the coming months. This was an amazing, well written story and one of my favorites written by Steena Holmes.
I could feel the joy and heartache that Claire and her family were going thru as time went on.
This book was a wonderful reflection of “how fragile life is and the gift of each moment must be cherished”.
I highly recommend this book. You won’t be disappointed.
This was an intense tearjerker. Need to have the tissues close by. I received this book free through Goodreads in return for an honest review. I’ve given it a 5* rating. There is more going on than having an unexpected baby. It is an emotional roller coaster that will leave you stunned at the end. This is the third of Steena Holmes’ books I’ve read and I was not dissapointed.