Customer Reviews

A Vow to Cherish (A Vow to Cherish Series #1) (Steeple Hill Women's Fiction #37)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"First novelist Raney has fashioned a startlingly honest portrayal of love, commitment, and redemption in the midst of tragedy...recommended for public libraries." --Library Journal, February 1, 1996

"Raney deals with the effects of Alzheimer's disease on a family through the eyes of husband Jake. Raney accurately portrays the disease's many faces and utter devastation. Because of Raney's writing style, readers can easily identify with the issues each character faces... Raney satisfactorily resolves all the issues she explores, offering hope and encouragement about a disease that increasingly more people will confront as America's population ages. Recommend this book not just to people dealing with Alzheimer's, but to anyone who enjoys a good romance with a believable plot and characters." --Bookstore Journal, March 1996

"If you're in the mood for a poignant love story, this novel is for you... The author paints a realistic, victorious picture of the difficulties facing families involved with Alzheimer's... Every married couple would benefit from reading this book. Every Christian who will ever know a couple struggling with the "for worse" part of their marriage vows should read it." --Christian Woman, September/October 1996

"Raney's first novel touches both the heart and mind. A "must" for any congregational library, the book explores the heart-wrenching challenge facing family and friends when a loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease... The reader learns a lot within the context of a good family story and the author has balanced the fiction with the reality of Alzheimer's well... Despite the sadness, Raney has written with inspiration and empathy." --Church and Synagogue Library Association, December 1998

"Raney addresses a contemporary issue with tenderness and understanding. The novel is well written and a good choice for your library." --Church Libraries, Fall 1996

"Raney writes lovingly and with great understanding... This book has much to recommend it... It is refreshing to read of characters facing ethical questions in the context of everyday tests of faith, rather than starting with the sin and filling the rest of the pages with remorse and repentance... Many passages are very moving, demonstrating the author's gift for capturing in a tiny moment much about a life or relationship." --Laura Addison in The Wichita Eagle, May 11, 1996

"Though a work of fiction, this powerful story reminds readers that "in sickness and in health" is a vow to cherish." --Church Media Library, September 1996

"A Vow To Cherish tugs at your heart strings... This fast-reading novel (you don't want to put it down)...will bring tears to your eyes." --The Good News Messenger, April 25, 1996

"Don't read this one without a whole box of tissues! What a moving book!" --Mary Holle, Redeemer Resource Library News  

This novel tells the story of Jake and Ellen Brighton, a couple devastated by a heartbreaking diagnosis. Though she is only 46 years old, Ellen has Alzheimer Disease (AD). Author Deborah Raney explores some of the issues that come with this kind of diagnosis. How do you continue to relate to someone who has AD? What does the marriage vow mean when the person you made those promises to gradually slips away? A friend of mine read this book with great interest because she also had a spouse with early onset Alzheimer. She found that the situations in this book accurately reflected much of her experience of being married to someone who has AD. She appreciated the author's Christian perspective and the fact that the story affirmed many of the experiences she had in the past few years. A Vow To Cherish is a unique book. It is an interesting story that will appeal to a wide variety of readers. It will be of special interest to those who have a loved one with Alzheimer Disease.

A Vow to Cherish touched me deeply--for many reasons. To me, this story is about having no regrets and allowing God to work things out in our lives with His perfect timing. I remember seeing the movie when it first came out and holding my breath as I watched John fall in love with Julia. I recall the same conflicting feelings when I read this book. Part of me wanted John to be happy with Julia. I truly felt for the guy. Part of me also cared deeply about his commitment to his wife.

The author did a fabulous job taking a difficult situation and covering it with flesh. The emotion and the loneliness were real as was the temptation both John and Julia experienced. Many people would justify John and Julia's relationship outside of marriage--especially for John. I hurt for the man. My mother was bedridden with MS for twenty years and my father cared for her until the very end. He cherished her and remained faithful when so many men in the same situations dumped their spouses when they could no longer perform their wifely duties.

John Brighton honored his vow to cherish his wife until they parted at her death. I'm convinced it made all the difference for his enduring happiness. John could then marry Julia free from guilt and knowing he gave his wife his undivided love and attention to the very end--once he overcame the temptation to vault his flesh into a forbidden zone that he would end up regretting later.

I've never read a book that more vividly portrays the deep pain of loneliness and all of the issues that go with it. My heart swelled and my throat tightened more than once through this beautiful story. I loved it!

Loved the first one, but with Raney's matured writing the edited reissue is even more poignant and relevant.

John and Ellen Brighton attend the high school graduation of their youngest child. The nest would soon be empty and they were looking forward to having time for each other. They plan to travel and just enjoy themselves. Then something started to go horribly wrong. Ellen began having periods of confusiion, saying things that didn't make sense. She gets lost and can't find her way home. A doctor gives them the shattering news. Ellen is in the early stages of Alzheimers. Nothing can be done to help her and the situation will gradually get worse.

In Chicago, Julia Sinclair has lost her husband and after years of sending her sons to St. Mark's private school, which she can no longer afford, she is desperate to get out of Chicago. She applies for a job at the Parkside Manor, a nursing home in the same town where John and Ellen live. When Ellen moves to the Manor, Julia meets John and they are attracted to each other. She can provide the companionship he misses so much. Someone to talk to, someone who understands. But John still loves Ellen, and he made a vow to cherish her in sickness and health on their wedding day. How can he go back on that vow just because she no longer knows him? A Vow to Cherish is a touching story of love and commitment and is an honest portrayal of the destroying disease of Alzheimers. The characters are so real you'll feel you know them. This book will touch your heart

It always amazes me how people can take a movie or a book, and write about everything but god. I think that it was a good book bc the man believed. If he hadn't he would have probably divorced her. I have only seen the movie, but i thought that it was very spiritual. A definite one to see again.

Every once in a great while a novel is born that really means something. Deborah Raney's gentle, yet realistic portrayal of Alzheimer's Disease is a must read for anyone who wants to know more about this illness. It is well-researched and heart-felt, enabling the reader to understand what Alzheimer's entails. A Vow to Cherish would be an encouragement to anyone who is dealing with the disease. Is one of your parents suffering? A spouse? An aunt or uncle? Or maybe a friend? Read A Vow to Cherish and know you are not alone.

Not often does an author have the chance to go back and rewrite her first book, but Deborah Raney had that opportunity. I read the original edition, saw the movie inspired by her book, and now I've read the new one. She has updated numerous things and added more depth, making an already good novel hauntingly beautiful.

John Brighton's wife has Alzheimer's, a cruel disease that afflicts entire families. I know. My mother died of Alzheimer's. I found Raney's book to be healing for me. With deep understanding and compassion, she exposes layer after layer of emotion a husband feels when his wife leaves him a bit at a time.

More cruel than sudden death or divorce, Alzheimer's robs the patient of their dignity as it robs the family of their loved one. After my mother died, daddy said he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. That hurt and I couldn't understand how he could say it. Until I read A Vow to Cherish. As Raney reveals John's deep love for his wife, she also discloses how the disease wore him down. No one suffers Alzheimer's alone.

Beautifully written and filled with credible characters, Raney once again demonstrates why she's an award winning author. A Vow to Cherish stands on my all-time-favorites book shelf.

As a person who has a relative dealing with Alzheimer's, I

think this is a great book. The movie was great also.

We all need our family and friends to help us during hard

times but we need God the most.

The topic sounded very interesting, but the quality of the writing was disappointing. The quality of the exposition and dialogue was high-school quality. It did not make me want to read any more of her novels.