In Kaya McLaren's What's Worth Keeping, during one unforgettable summer, three generations of one family receive the best gift of all time: a second chance...
The day her doctor says the one word that no one wants to hear, Amy Bergstrom discovers a secret that her husband of 25 years has been keeping from her. Now that the months of treatment and surgeries are behind her, she escapes her claustrophobic life seeking healing, peace and clarity in an ancient forest in Washington State, a forest that holds memories of her childhood summers.
After dropping off his daughter at Amy’s Aunt Rae’s horse ranch in the mountains of New Mexico, Officer Paul Bergstrom visits the fixer-upper he had bought years ago as a place to retire with his family. Although it appears fine on the outside, the inside is a disaster—just like his marriage. When he finds himself with more off-duty time than he expected, he lovingly repairs his dream home, building the future he so desperately wants.
Witnessing her mother’s health crisis had been terrifying enough, but learning the cause was genetic leaves Carly with the sense that all of her dreams are pointless. With the help of her eccentric great aunt and a Clydesdale named T. Rex, Carly just may find her faith in her future again.
Amy, Paul, and Carly discover that love and family are worth keeping in this powerful, emotional, and hopeful novel.
MY REVIEW: 5 Stars ⭐️
Omg! I knew this was going to be a tear jerker. I knew it was going to hit close to home. She had the cancer. I had the cancer. Here we go...
I thought the book was ultimately going to be about Amy and her cancer journey. While this is about her journey, after cancer, this is also a journey about her husband, Paul and daughter, Carly.
We have the three different POV’s: Amy, Paul and Carly. At first I thought, Paul and Carly were jerks. But, it turns out they have their own traumas and issues.
Amy decides she has to get away. She has to find a way to heal. Not only from the trauma of cancer treatment, but of other things that have been haunting her. Secrets she found... So she’s going back to nature. This is the exact place I went after I got my energy back. The same place I go today, to hike, to get away, to feel love.
*Uncorrected Proof Quote
Amy goes off on her own journey to visit as many National Forests as possible. We get to read about the beautiful places, feel the heartbreak of Amy’s thoughts (which really, only cancer patients understand), and slowly see her start to heal.
Meanwhile, Amy and Paul discussed taking Carly to work on Great-Aunt Rae’s horse farm.
Aunt Rae has Clydesdale horses and she takes people camping and trail riding with them. My favorite horse and Carly’s as well is T-Rex. She’s loved him since she was a little kid.
Aunt Rae is one of my favorite characters. She’s the glue that bonded everyone together again.
Carly loves the horses and her aunt. Carly finds herself on the farm, opens up about her anger and pain, decides what she really wants for her future and can finally get some peace.
Paul is a cop and he’s only a few years from retirement. He’s battling his own demons from being a first responder in a bombing and watching the world and friends go downhill. This has taken its toll on him. Not to mention going through cancer treatment with Amy.
At one point in the past the family bought a house not far from Aunt Rae’s farm in Chama, NM. Paul has finally started to fix up the house, trying to find his own peace of mind and create a nice home for the family to possible move into some day. He finally met some of the wonderful neighbors and I fell in love with Mr. Martinez. He helps Paul in some important ways.
All of the pieces of their lives start to fit together the way they should. This was a long road for each person but getting there was the most rewarding in my opinion. I loved it and this book will be going on my real life bookshelf.
*Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s for a digital copy of this book.
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
I thought the book was ultimately going to be about Amy and her cancer journey. While this is about her journey, after cancer, this is also a journey about her husband, Paul and daughter, Carly.
We have the three different POV’s: Amy, Paul and Carly. At first I thought, Paul and Carly were jerks. But, it turns out they have their own traumas and issues.
Amy decides she has to get away. She has to find a way to heal. Not only from the trauma of cancer treatment, but of other things that have been haunting her. Secrets she found... So she’s going back to nature. This is the exact place I went after I got my energy back. The same place I go today, to hike, to get away, to feel love.
*Uncorrected Proof Quote
"I just want to be in the forest. I feel like nature is the only thing that might heal me. For months, I kept thinking that if I could just be with the really big trees, I would be okay."
Amy goes off on her own journey to visit as many National Forests as possible. We get to read about the beautiful places, feel the heartbreak of Amy’s thoughts (which really, only cancer patients understand), and slowly see her start to heal.
Meanwhile, Amy and Paul discussed taking Carly to work on Great-Aunt Rae’s horse farm.
Aunt Rae has Clydesdale horses and she takes people camping and trail riding with them. My favorite horse and Carly’s as well is T-Rex. She’s loved him since she was a little kid.
Aunt Rae is one of my favorite characters. She’s the glue that bonded everyone together again.
Carly loves the horses and her aunt. Carly finds herself on the farm, opens up about her anger and pain, decides what she really wants for her future and can finally get some peace.
Paul is a cop and he’s only a few years from retirement. He’s battling his own demons from being a first responder in a bombing and watching the world and friends go downhill. This has taken its toll on him. Not to mention going through cancer treatment with Amy.
At one point in the past the family bought a house not far from Aunt Rae’s farm in Chama, NM. Paul has finally started to fix up the house, trying to find his own peace of mind and create a nice home for the family to possible move into some day. He finally met some of the wonderful neighbors and I fell in love with Mr. Martinez. He helps Paul in some important ways.
All of the pieces of their lives start to fit together the way they should. This was a long road for each person but getting there was the most rewarding in my opinion. I loved it and this book will be going on my real life bookshelf.
*Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s for a digital copy of this book.
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
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