Genre: Family/Psychological/Drama
Description
Irene Hurt’s life is perfect and she cherishes every moment with her son and her husband, until … the day she gets the call every mother dreads. Her son, Scottie is injured in a mass school shooting and is rushed to the ICU, where he’s put into a medically induced coma to wait out his fate. Devastated, her husband pulls away and even tries to convince Irene to remove Scottie’s life support, to save his son from a life of lesser existence. But, Irene refuses to give up hope.
On her journey through grief, denial, anger and finally, acceptance, Irene discovers more about the events of that tragic day, the boy who shot her son and then took his own life, and the husband she thought she knew and could trust. Will Scottie pull through? Or, will Irene accept that sometimes, the best thing a mother can do for her child is let go?
Set in the darkest hours of winter in Seattle, Holding on to Hurt tells the gripping story of one mother’s fight to keep her son alive, no matter what she has to sacrifice.
Is It A Series?
No
Is It Easy to Read?
Yes
Karen’s Magic Review
The author decided to give away some copies of her book in a Facebook post and being a sucker for books, I said yes, before I’d even read the description! Some authors you can do that with, can’t you?
I read the description above and it isn’t the normal book I would read, and the reviews did suggest a hankie was needed. I never watch weepy films and wouldn’t normally read a weepy book either. But I started to read this and was drawn into the story.
We’ve all seen news items about mass shootings and they touched the author’s heart, as they do with many people. Ms. Roth was compelled to write about it and imagining what it must be like to be caught up in a situation like that.
Heartrending for sure. The story gives the reader a chance to experience it through the eyes of one family and its painful read. The book title is very clever and not what you think either. I shall let you find that out when you read it.
Told in the first person by Irene, she lives every mother’s nightmare. We watch the fragmenting of her family and the strong emotions it causes. I’m not going to give away any of the story in this review, but it’s suffice to say there are some surprises, some twists and some turns along the way. I found it fascinating to read about the family who pull together in times of crisis and how the dynamics of what they were and experienced in the past all play a big part in coming together.
Charlotte Roth could very well let loose with an over-emotive and perhaps repetitive story but no, she writes extremely well and deals with sensitive issues. It will certainly make you sit back and think.
So, if you are looking for something different from boy meets girl, aliens landing, werewolves, and vampire’s biting, or even the paranormal, then read this book. You won’t be sorry.
Karen J. Mossman 