The Hope Chest: family drama about love, hope and healing

The Hope Chest by Carolyn Brown is a family drama about finding love, hope and family. Three estranged cousins, Nessa, Flynn and April, gather in Blossom, Texas for the finalization of their grandmother’s will. After a year in court when Nessa’s father, Isaac, tries to contest the will on the grounds that his mother was not in her right mind, the cousins set out to fulfill her final wishes. The cousins share the inheritance of her house as well as a hope chest that was to be unlocked when they complete a special task. They must finish her cherished quilt. As they set out to hand stitch the quilt, Nessa, Flynn and April work on piecing together their own lives. For Nessa, the house was an escape from her strict parents. Flynn is determined to end the lifestyle that his father raised him on and April returns to Blossom looking for answers to her troubled childhood. Thread by thread, memory by memory, the three cousins piece together their grandmother’s troubled past, the secrets she held tight against her chest and their own healing toward a brighter future.

My mom had a hope chest that sat at the end of her bed when I was growing up. It was filled with pictures and mementoes. When I came across this book, I was intrigued by what the cousins would find inside their hope chest. The Hope Chest is a good family drama dealing with many deep issues. From past hurts, life changing decisions, mental illness, parental expectations and forging one’s own path, The Hope Chest is a slower moving novel as Nessa, Flynn and April come together, each with their own hurts, desires, and hopes. One of my favorite quotes from the book is “Failure doesn’t have to define us. It can be the turning point in our lives that leads us to something better.” There is a bit of romance but it doesn’t overshadow the family drama and healing these three go through. My only real complaint is that Flynn is often teased for being short. He’s described as 5’8” which isn’t overly tall for a man but is above the average height for men (which is 5’6”). Overall, I enjoyed The Hope Chest and highly recommend it. 

The Hope Chest is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook