The Promise Between Us: a powerful story of life with a mental illness

The Promise between Us by Barbara Claypole White is the story of one family torn apart by mental illness and how they come back together for the well-being of another. The story opens with Katelynn McDonald as a young mother of 7 month old, Maisie, who has been having very intrusive thoughts about hurting her daughter. Fearing that she would actually hurt her, Katelynn runs and disappears from her daughter’s life. Fast forward 9 years later, Katelynn, now called Katie, has been dealing with OCD and a chance meeting puts her face to face with her daughter and she fears her daughter suffers from the same mental illness. Her ex-husband, Callum, refuses to listen to Katie’s fears until one day when he notices the same behaviors in Maisie as Katie used to do so long ago. Can they come together enough to help Maisie? Are there more secrets buried deep which need to surface before they can fully heal?

The Promise between Us is a beautiful and powerful story. It was difficult to read at times, not because the story lagged, but because Ms. Claypole White’s description of OCD. The mental anguish that the compulsions cause the individual as they try to fight the irrational thoughts. It is a powerful story of how healing can come from facing our deepest fears and how the people we love can be our best medicine. I enjoyed every character and the conflict and resolution fit very well. I enjoyed The Promise between Us as it gives an in-depth, no-holds-bar look into the lives and thoughts of those who suffer from OCD. I highly recommend it!

The Promise between Us

is available in paperback and eBook

Echoes of Family: a story of one family's path to recovery

Echoes of Family by Barbara Claypole White is the story of a group of people who are a family bound by a common thread and reliance on each other. Marianne Stoke is a woman who suffers from bipolar depression and is reeling from a deadly accident she was involved in. Blaming herself, she flees her husband, Darius Montgomery, and almost-daughter, Jade Jones, and heads home to England. Back to her home village where she runs into Gabriel Bonham, a ghost from her past. When Darius and Jade catch up with her, she has a manic episode where she is hospitalized and meets another lost soil, Emj. While in England, she tries to confront the past and discover why bad things seem to follow her wherever she goes. Will Marianne learn the truth about these tragic events? Will she be able to forgive herself for her part?

Echoes of Family is an excellent and in-your-face story of one woman with bipolar disorder. The delicate balance of a bipolar sufferer’s life is touching and the reader feels for Marianne as the reality is she will suffer with it for the rest of her life. The manic episodes are described with such detailed that the reader feels as if he or she is a witness. The pain and sometimes helplessness of Marianne’s loved one cuts deep to the reader. Echoes of Family is filled with drama and pain but it is also filled with funny moments and wisecracks that can only come from people who are as close as family. I highly recommend Echoes of Family!

Echoes of Family

is available on Amazon

in paperback and Kindle

as well as

on Barnes and Noble

in paperback and audiobook