Shannon's step-daughter Keisha has a problem, she's a drug addict. She tends to disappear for weeks at a time and then call Shannon and John begging for help, both monetarily and a place to stay. When she calls again in the middle of the night, it's obvious that John wants nothing to do with her living with them again, they have a son to worry about and can't have her brand of crazy disrupting his life. Shannon knows that they can't leave her where she is, the life of a druggie is very dangerous. Her hope is that while she's living with them, Keisha can become free of drugs, go to school, get a job, and learn to have a normal life. John insists that she sign an agreement saying that she won't use drugs or alcohol while living with them, she'll get a job, pay for her own expenses, otherwise she will have 3 days to get out of their home. Things seem to be going well, but then it's obvious that Keisha has been drinking, Shannon hides it from John, knowing that he would kick her out immediately. And then things start to come up missing. Is Shannon willing to allow Keisha to make her own mistakes and then pay the consequences for them? Or will she continue to jeopardize her marriage and family by covering up the mistakes?
Shannon is one for me that I never really felt connected to through the original 4 Newport Ladies Book Club books, so I was really glad to have gotten to know her a little bit in this book. I enjoyed reading about Shannon, I find that I like her way better now, and understand why she was a bit reserved in the plots of the first books. I really felt bad for Shannon and her family as they were dealing with Keisha's mistakes. I could understand why Shannon felt that she had to cover them up, but I also understood where John was coming from. For me the ending was almost painful, I'm a mother too, so I understood how Shannon felt at that part, but I also know as she did, that it was the right solution for the problem. This small review and summary really doesn't do a whole lot of justice to the multi-faceted Shannon, so make sure to go and read the book. You don't have to read these books in order, the first 4 are concurrent, they all happen at the same time and the second 4 that are coming out now, of which Shannon's Hope is the first, will be the same way.
I was sent an e-copy by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.Labels: Josi S Kilpack, Newport Ladies Book Club
