This spring fans of Debbie Macomber get another Blossom
Street book, but need to be aware that the connection to
Blossom Street in HANNAH'S LIST is very loose, and that the
majority of the book doesn't take place on Blossom Street
proper, and with the exception of Winter, the owner of the
French Café the people that we've come to know and love make
very small if any appearances in this book.
HANNAH'S LIST is the story of Dr. Michael Everett a
respected pediatrician. His wife Hannah, who he believes to
have been the one true love of his life, has been dead for a
year. Hannah died from ovarian cancer, and before her death
she left a letter for Michael suggesting three women whom he
might choose to date and perhaps marry one day. She asked
her brother and Michael's friend Richie to give him the
letter when she'd been gone for a year.
At first Michael is angry with not only Hannah, but his
friends and coworkers who also believe that a year is enough
time to mourn the loss of your wife. I tend to agree with
Michael that I think we all need whatever time it takes to
mourn and move on, but perhaps Hannah's letter will be the
jumpstart that Michael needs to move onward and upward.
Who will be the perfect new partner for Michael? Will it be
café owner and Hannah's cousin Winter who is on a break from
her relationship with her boyfriend? Perhaps the perfect
person is Leanne who is divorced from her husband, and was
Hannah's nurse during the cancer treatment? Surely it's not
Macy whom Michael has never met, and when he does seems to
be as flaky as snow.
As I read HANNAH'S LIST I wasn't really sure what I thought
of Michael and what seemed to be his narrow minded focus and
grieving Hannah and not giving serious thought to getting
involved in life again. It just seemed somewhat
unbelievable to think he could be a compassionate
pediatrician while still so wrapped in his grief. However,
as the pages wore on I could see where he was able to
separate his professional life from his personal one.
I felt as though it wasn't until he met Macy that Michael
truly began to become a person that I could like and how he
got to be the respected doctor that he is. However, to find
out who in the end Michael chooses you have to read HANNAH'S
LIST for yourself.
As for me...when the last page was turned I was more than
satisfied with the ending, but couldn't help but wonder if
perhaps it wasn't time to leave Blossom Street behind, and
move on with the writing that I had once loved so well.
Make time for friends. Make time for Debbie Macomber. On the
anniversary of his beloved wife's death, Dr. Michael Everett
receives a letter Hannah had written him. In it she reminds
him of her love and makes one final request. An impossible
request: I want you to marry again. She tells him he
shouldn't spend the years he has left grieving her. And to
that end she's chosen three women she asks him to consider.
First on Hannah's list is Winter Adams, a trained chef who
owns a cafe on Seattle's Blossom Street. The second is
Leanne Lancaster, Hannah's oncology nurse. Michael knows
them both. But the third name is one he's not familiar with
- Macy Roth. Each of these three women has her own
heartache, her own private grief. During the months that
follow, he spends time with Winter, Leanne and Macy,
learning more about each of them...and about himself.