Hope receives an urgent call from her daughter, Allison, who begs her to drive from New Jersey to Michigan. She needs help caring for her father, Drew, who has been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Hope hesitates as she becomes drawn back into the pain she endured with her ex-husband, his infidelities, their divorce, and the legal battles over child support. As she drives the miles to Michigan, she relives in her mind the things that brought her to this day.
At age twenty-one, Hope marries Drew. Although he had not yet been diagnosed with a mental illness, her inner self senses something is wrong with him. Shortly after their marriage, Hope’s life becomes a nightmare as she faces his paranoia, fear of germs, imaginary illnesses, and isolation from society. She stays with him, intent upon having a family. Her dream becomes a reality when she is blessed with two beautiful daughters, Allison and Rebecca. But her happiness is short lived when Drew runs off with another woman, leaving her destitute as a single mother with no income or source of food for her children.
Hope secures a teaching job. As her self-esteem rises, she searches for the man of her dreams. She meets Ray, the father of two children, Danny and Ashley. Hope and Ray marry, ready to begin a new life with their four children as a blended family.
Together the couple faces unexpected challenges. Ray’s children are kidnapped by his ex-wife in a child-custody dispute, his son turns to alcohol to deal with his turmoil, and Hope’s daughters become victims of the court battles between their two natural parents.
When Allison graduates from high school, she and her stepbrother Danny fall madly in love and run away together. The stress of this event tears Hope and Ray apart.
Through the pages of this book, Hope experiences many crises as a teacher in the City of New York. She constantly strives to balance the obstacles she faces, both in her personal and professional life. While doing so, she carries within her a secret that impacts all the years of her life, beginning from childhood.
Read Hope’s story, and you will learn the outcome of her efforts, the status of her family, and how she resolved her fears of revealing that secret.