“This is an eye-opening and realistic exploration of mental illness—a topic that greatly deserves to be front and center.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Small Great ThingsMetal artist Katie Mack is living a lie. Nine years ago she ran away from her family in Raleigh, North Carolina, consumed by the irrational fear that she would harm Maisie, her newborn daughter. Over time … her newborn daughter. Over time she’s come to grips with the mental illness that nearly destroyed her, and now funnels her pain into her art. Despite longing for Maisie, Katie honors an agreement with the husband she left behind—to change her name and never return.
But when she and Maisie accidentally reunite, Katie can’t ignore the familiarity of her child’s compulsive behavior. Worse, Maisie worries obsessively about bad things happening to her pregnant stepmom. Katie has the power to help, but can she reconnect with the family she abandoned?
To protect Maisie, Katie must face the fears that drove her from home, accept the possibility of love, and risk exposing her heart-wrenching secret.
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Saving this book for a rainy day, I’ve had this in my Kindle docket for a while. Turns out quarantine was that “rainy day”. I just finished the book and WOW. Katie Mack is a new mother whose brain is trapped in post-partum O.C.D., which manifests itself as a fear of life, always imagining the worst thing that could possibly happen. In Katie’s mind, what if that worst thing turns out to be herself? This excellent family drama did not disappoint!
I love BCW’s books!
This past October, I flew to New Mexico for a writers’ retreat (thanks Women’s Fiction Writers’ Association) and the first person I met at the airport was Barbara Claypole White. We were waiting for our shuttle to the hotel and she was as warm and cheerful as the Albuquerque sunshine. We easily chatted from curb to curb and throughout our five days together. I am so happy to be given the opportunity to review The Promise Between Us, Barbara’s fifth novel, for TLC Book Tours.
In reading The Promise Between Us, I realize that I really had a limited grasp of the ongoing suffering and pain that people with OCD experience and battle daily, hourly, minute by minute. This book, for me, was eye opening and pulled me into the thoughts and incessant voice of OCD. I have a much greater understanding and compassion for people struggling with mental illness.
In my work as a birth and postpartum doula for years, I had hours and hours of training, read hundreds of pages of information on postpartum mood disorders from baby blues to postpartum anxiety and OCD, but not until reading The Promise Between Us did I fully comprehend the stronghold it has on a person. Claypole White shines a spotlight on anxiety disorder, pulling the reader right into the thick of things. We see anxiety as a result of trauma as compared to anxiety as mental illness and how both affect not only the person struggling, but the families and friends surrounding them.
“Why were these horrid thoughts taking up a whole room in her brain? No, multiple rooms!”
“… closed her eyes as tight as she could and willed the very weird thoughts to vanish. But when she opened her eyes, those thoughts were worse. Stronger. Bigger. And she didn’t want any of them.”
As the story unfolds, I felt secrets bubbling and wonderful tension. I cared about this flawed and hurt and loving cast of characters and really liked how the ending was satisfying without being too neat and tidy, without being expected.
The Promise Between Us explores motherhood: the deepest of loves, the fears, the messes and the joys. We see a step mother figuring out how to parent a child this isn’t her own, and a mother trying to mother a child she didn’t think she could adequately care for. As readers, as mothers, we can empathize with, and root for, them both as they grow and support each other for the child’s benefit.
Art and sculpture are important in the story and in managing OCD. It made me think about a friend who founded an organization in Rhode Island, Peace Love Studios, which uses painting and art as a tool for coping with mental health disorders like OCD. The performing arts also have an important role in this book touching on acting as a career but also for survival. Do OCD and anxiety require sufferers to pretend, to play act? Is that the best way to handle things or is honesty and openness better?
Layered and thought-provoking, The Promise Between Us is a powerful story of coping with mental illness and how love prevails for one unconventional family.
As is usual for Barbara Claypole-White, this book transplants you into the world of mental health issues in a way that helps you understand them. The Promise Between Us shines a spotlight on living with OCD as a parent and as a child who doesn’t understand what is happening to her.
The story unfolds in a way that draws you in and keeps you turning pages. The twist of fate that brings the young daughter and her unknown mother together is believable and heart-stopping. You won’t regret picking up this book or any book by this author!
My review of “The Promise Between Us” by Barbara Claypole White
Happy tears are one of my favorite ways to end a book. I loved Katie and Maisie! I was able to feel their pain, their fears, their happiness, and most importantly, their limitless love for others. Barbara Claypole White was able to bring light to very difficult, and often dark, subject matter. As someone living with components of mental illnesses brought up in this book, I found it so refreshing to be able to understand simple, yet daunting, daily struggles. Barbara wove a beautiful story with heart and the true meaning of love. I highly recommend this book as not only is it a great story, but an important read of mental illness and the all-powerful sense of redemption. I look forward to reading more books by Barbara Claypole White.
Barbara Claypole White is not afraid of mental illness, and she probably has the scars to prove it.
To me, this is her best work yet (and I never thought she could surpass The Perfect Son).
If you have OCD, read this book. If you don’t have OCD, read this book. You will love (and not love) her characters, their strengths and weaknesses.
This book is about mental illness. It will enlighten you on the several different kinds and how a family finally comes together to work things out.
OCD seen from inside the developing mind of a child.
Draws you in with the wonderful character development
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!
Barbara Claypole White has outdone herself yet again. A magnificent book. The research online must have taken enormous amounts of money and time. A great cast of characters, both heroic, fallible, and so very human. We put to rest the stigma of mental illness with these novels. So, what if mental illness is genetic? Why are we afraid of people most in need of love and understanding? Anxiety and depression are so very difficult. But what of harm OCD? Having done a thesis on the disorders, I think I couldn’t have done a better job in a fictional book to teach them. I love the world of this author but this one haunts me! Kudos to Barbara Claypole White!
What a phenomenal story! The Promise Between Us is a beautifully written story about a mental health disorder, specifically OCD. It describes the heartache, pain, and suffering of those afflicted and family members who struggle to understand this terrifying disorder. This story is also about forgiveness, and with forgiveness, there is hope, which strengthens with the love of a family who never gives up.
I read this book in one sitting…it’s that good. The characters are complex, the storyline is intriguing, and the subplots add layers of depth that pulls you deeper into these characters’ lives. This is such an engaging read. However, the best part of reading this story is how the author successfully gives voice to a mental health disorder that is often misunderstood and maligned. After reading this book, I definitely have a more comprehensive understanding of OCD thanks to this very realistically written story. Very highly recommended!
This was a wonderful book- it not only entertained but educated as well. Thank you!
Barbara Claypole White’s books just keep getting better and better.
I was privileged to read an advance copy of “The Promise Between Us.” This is a tightly-plotted, emotionally raw and beautifully authentic portrait of a woman who, when her “harm OCD” flared up postpartum, felt the only way she could love her newborn daughter was to leave her. Years later, the ripples from that decision are still working their way outward, and when a chance encounter brings her back into contact with her daughter, everyone involved will be forced to confront the things they’ve tried to bury.
As always, what I love about White’s books is the fact that she fills them with the very real conflict among good people whose best intentions smack into their inherent flaws. If you’re into escapist literature, this is probably not your cup of tea. But if you like your fiction to have depth, importance, and meaning, this is the book for you. She shines a light on mental illness and invites everyone to see it in a new way, with compassion and understanding rather than fear and judgment. And hope!
As a person who struggles with anxiety myself, “The Promise Between Us” was particularly meaningful and illuminating. The opening sequence triggered an anxiety reaction, but reading the rest of the book ended up being a very healing process. Well done, Barbara. Well done.
I really enjoyed this book. I had absolutely no idea that OCD had so many facets. I always thought of just the obsessive part of doing or touching things certain times. I won’t give any hints, but this book is eye opening! Really well written, with a really nice story added in. I have to tell you that i fell in love with Ben. Such a good man, and handsome to boot! Thank you Barbara for opening my eyes. This may even help me as a teacher, to see this in my students.
This novel tackles OCD in such an informative and intimate way that I found it hard to stop reading and at the same time often felt so sad and sometimes horrified at the experience of being inside the characters heads. Given that the author has first hand experience with OCD in her family, the characters who love and support the characters with OCD are realistic. This is a misunderstood mental illness that deserves more attention and understanding. This book taught me a lot and held my attention on every page.
If you know or love someone who lives with mental illness this book will help you to understand a little in ways that you could not understand before. I have a daughter who suffers with conditions that I could read about but did not truly understand, reading this book gave me insight into the demons that she fights bravely on a daily basis. Thank you for writing this book!
Was kind of a depressing book. I finished it but had I known exactly what it contained I probably wouldn’t have gotten it.
Katie Mack, who’s real name is Katelyn MacDonald, is married to Cal and together they have their daughter, Maisie. Katie suffers from OCD, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. After she has Maisie, the OCD is out of control, and she has this irrational fear that she may hurt her baby who is seven months old. Her biggest fear is fire, and once the what ifs set in, the awful images assault in her mind and play over and over. Katie must work with herself continuously to control her thoughts and turn them around, which is such hard work day after day, even moment by moment. When the OCD strikes, what comes out of her mouth are her fears talking. She tells Cal, “I see myself hurting Maisie, even though I would never do that. Never. But what if the house burns down with Maisie trapped in her crib and it’s my fault? What if I start a fire and don’t even realize it and…I think I’m going mad.” But instead of helping her, Cal takes legal action. Katie decides to leave her husband and honors an agreement changing her name and gives up her parental rights never being able to see her daughter again and be a part of her life in order to protect Maisie.
Fast forward, and nine years have passed since she left. To conquer her fear of fire, Katie becomes a metal artist working with her best friend, Ben, who owns the Durham Sculpture Workshop where she welds beautiful art pieces that are original Katie Mack designs. Ben receives an email from the director of the Contemporary Art Museum, and he’d like either Ben or Katie to work with the kids who have been chosen as docents for their art show. In her past life, Katie worked as a middle grade school teacher, so she’s used to working with children. The director specifically requests her, and she hesitantly accepts the offer. To her surprise, one of the docents in the art program is ten-year old Maisie. Due to the agreement, Katie knows she can’t reveal who she really is. To her dismay, her OCD quickly fires up, and as she gets to know her daughter, she instinctively realizes Maisie has inherited her OCD. She also realizes she shouldn’t have given her up all those years ago and makes the assumption that “the divorce was all for Maisie, and it achieved nothing.”
Every character in Claypole White’s book are so well thought and depicted throughout the story. Cal and his new wife, Lilah, are pregnant with their first child. Jake, Cal’s best friend since 1st grade, plays a very important role in this story as well as Delaney, Katie’s sister. Ben, whom Katie finds true friendship along with the blossoming of new love, all bring relevancy to the story. Secrets were kept many years ago which bring dysfunction. Once all the cards are laid out on the table, there is a better understanding between everyone, and their lives continue in a healthier fashion.
THE PROMISE BETWEEN US is the second book I’ve read by Barbara Claypole White. I love the depth and breadth of her stories. She clearly demonstrates her knowledge of OCD and other mental health illnesses which she incorporates into her novels. When I read her books, I know exactly what I’m going to get and that’s the truth along with a good story. Claypole White educates the reader about OCD, panic, anxiety, depression, PTSD, suicide and surviving the mental anguish one would suffer from these issues. She also deals with the emotional pain of having to give up parental rights. She clearly knows how to weave a story to keep the reader interested and wanting to turn the next page. Definitely read this book, and keep this author on your radar because she can knock a novel out of the ballpark.
Barbara Claypole White is among the best of the best when it comes to creating characters that make your heart ache for them in the best possible way. This story of artist Katie Mack and her reunion with the daughter she felt forced to leave due to her postpartum OCD is one I won’t soon forget. There is a hopefulness to Barbara’s writing that makes her work so poignant but never schmaltzy or too saccharine. This story is raw, the best kind of book that teaches you something while also putting you face-to-face with the characters’ emotional journeys. A must-read.