I have to admit HERE IN MY HEART is the first book I've
ever read by Anna DeStefano. Actually it is a novella
which means for the most part it should be short and
sweet -- a teaser for all practical purposes. Well it
certainly teased me. I immediately looked up DeStefano to
get a look-see at her other works.
HERE IN MY HEART is one of the most powerful novella's
I've ever had the fortune to read and review. It is
jammed packed with a story line that grabs your heart and
makes you think. HERE IN MY HEART is about belonging and
of course the search for love. Anna DeStefano is not
preoccupied with the romance kind of love here. This
story is about the unrelenting search for a place where a
person feels loved, accepted and finally finds a home.
HERE IN MY HEART's story revolves around adults and kids
that are or have gone through the foster child program.
Chandlerville could be just about any small town with
typical small town issues. Of course number one would be
that there are no secrets -- everybody's life is just
about an open book.
But there are several positive things about living in
Chandlerville. The town in its own way supports the
citizens both young and old, good and bad, pleasant and
shall we say not so pleasant. We get to meet quite a few
of these wonderful people in HERE IN MY HEART. They are
all destined to remain in your heart long after you read
this amazing novella.
The central two characters are Brad and Dru who have had
a rather odd relationship over the years. What started
out as two kids who felt they were each best friends
wound up with a chasm that spanned many years. Dru was a
foster child that lucked out with amazing set of parents.
Brad lost his parents and lived with his rather
cantankerous grandmother Viv. Dru for all practical
purposes had the benefit of parents and a long string of
foster siblings. Brad had his grandmother. But these two
forged the most wonderful friendship based in affection
and trust. It imploded when that trust was broken.
The one thing that DeStefano will illustrate quite
effectively in HERE IN MY HEART is the fragility of kids'
lives in foster care. These kids are all just waiting for
the next shoe to drop and off they go to start over --
hopefully at a really wonderful home -- but that is not
always the case.
Brad and Dru have fashioned their lives and careers in
helping these kids -- each in their own way. And now that
Brad has returned home they will reluctantly join forces
once again to see that these kids get a fair shake. But
that's not to say that their previous relationship -- as
friends -- can ever be resurrected. That will take time,
patience and a rebuilding of a trust long broken.
Loved it -- those two words adequately describe my
feelings about this wonderful book that has been
subtitled as a novella. There is nothing small about HERE
IN MY HEART. Anna DeStefano has presented an incredible
look into the lives of some wonderfully normal people
with extraordinary hurdles to conquer. HERE IN MY HEART
is the introduction to DeStefano's new series called
Echoes of the Heart. It is already on my must read
list --
it should be on yours as well.
Live and work together, or lose everything that matters…
The ultimatum tilts Dru Hampton’s contented life in
Chandlerville, Georgia, on its ear. The man that Vivian,
her
cantankerous boss and benefactor, wants Dru to partner
with—live with—is Brad Douglas, who’s let Dru down every
way
a man can.
Sheriff’s deputy Brad Douglas has come a long way since
his
rebellious youth. He’s back home to care for Vivian, his
ill
grandmother. He’s stayed out of Dru’s way all these years
to
make up for the hurt he once caused her. Now, the
delightfully mischievous Vivian’s dying wish is for them
to
rebuild at least a working relationship together…and she’s
betting on them rediscovering much more.
The family business and the Douglas home that Dru and Brad
both cherish will be sold if they don’t resolve their
differences. Can these childhood sweethearts make up and
reclaim each other’s hearts before it’s too late?
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