A Promise in Pieces by
Emily T. Wierenga. Abingdon Press, April 2014. (9781426758850) Series: Quilts
of Love #17
I found this book to read for the Book Cover Bingo game (needed a
quilt) and if just for this book, I’m so glad I’m participating in the game.
Probably wouldn’t have requested this book otherwise. It made me laugh and it
made me cry.
Goodreads
Summary:
A baby quilt
touches many hearts as it travels from family-to-family and through
generations.
After the
end of World War II, Clara Kirkpatrick returns from the Women’s Army Corp to
deliver a dying soldier’s last wishes: convey his love to his young widow,
Mattie, with apologies for the missed life they had planned to share.
Struggling
with her own post-war trauma, Clara thinks she’s not prepared to handle the
grief of this broken family. Yet upon meeting Mattie, and receiving a baby
quilt that will never cuddle the soldier’s baby, Clara vows to honor the
sacrifices that family made.
Now a labor
and delivery nurse in her rural hometown, Clara wraps each new babe in the
gifted quilt and later stitches the child’s name into the cloth. As each new
child is welcomed by the quilt, Clara begins to wonder whatever happened to
Mattie—and if her own life would ever experience the love of a newborn. Little
does she know that she will have the opportunity to re-gift the special
quilt—years later and carrying even greater significance than when it was first
bestowed.
My Review:
Clara’s
story is told by Clara herself as she looks back to her experiences before,
during and just after the war. The author gets the tone perfect because it
really felt like a 70 something year old woman reminiscing and telling her
grandson the story of the quilt.
The quilt
doesn’t come into play until midway through her tale but it plays an important
role after that in helping her heal and feel useful. It’s what ties the whole
story together in a very touching way.
I loved this
story because it reminded me that everyone has a story to tell and wisdom to
share; especially those who have lived half a dozen decades or more. Which is
exactly what Clara wanted her grandson to learn. Among other things.
But Clara
isn’t perfect and above reproach either, she’s still learning, still
experiencing. Life’s lessons don’t end until life ends. And I’m so glad the
book ends on a happy note with something to look forward to.
The
characters are interesting, life back in the 1940s and 50s is simply yet
vividly described, and it’s a wonderful reminder of what our grandparents or
even great-grand parents went through.
Read it if
you enjoy simple but sweet lifelong romance, World War II fiction, tales about
nurses, or present day stories mixed with the past.
I'd really give it 4.5 stars
Disclosure:
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. I was not
required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission.
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