The Rockin' Chair by Steven Manchester Review for Providence Book Promotions!

The Rockin' Chair by Steven Manchester on Tour July 1 - August 31

Book Details Genre: Fiction Published by: The Story Plant Publication Date: June 18, 2013 Number of Pages: 242 Purchase Links:

Synopsis:

Memories are the ultimate contradiction. They can warm us on our coldest days – or they can freeze a loved one out of our lives forever. The McCarthy family has a trove of warm memories. Of innocent first kisses. Of sumptuous family meals. Of wondrous lessons learned at the foot of a rocking chair. But they also have had their share of icy ones. Of words that can never be unsaid. Of choices that can never be unmade. Of actions that can never be undone.Following the death of his beloved wife, John McCarthy – Grandpa John – calls his family back home. It is time for them to face the memories they have made, both warm and cold. Only then can they move beyond them and into the future. A rich portrait of a family at a crossroad, The Rockin’ Chair is Steven Manchester’s most heartfelt and emotionally engaging novel to date. If family matters to you, it is a story you must read.

Read an excerpt:

Elle picked up Evan, Tara and Lila at the airport. As she approached the threesome, she gasped at the sight of her emaciated daughter. For a few moments, Tara’s eyes scanned every inch of her mother’s face before she spread her twig-like arms. Elle hugged her, then pulled away and peered into her sunken eyes. “Are you sick?” she asked. While Tara shrugged, Elle grabbed Evan for a hug. “I’ll explain it on the way,” he whispered in her ear. Lila stood there, looking up at her grandmother—curiously. Elle bent down and smiled at the baby. “Hello, my love,” she whispered, “Grandma’s waited much too long to meet you.” The little girl was a living doll. She had Tara’s strawberry blond curls and the same dark eyes as Alice. Lila grinned. “Hi, Gramma,” she said, and never flinched when Elle scooped her up and kissed her cheek. Elle looked back at Tara and could feel her eyes swell with tears. “Grandma?” Evan asked, grabbing her attention. Elle shook her head, the tears beginning to cascade down her tired face. “When?” he asked. Elle reached for his hand. “Last night…right in Grampa’s lap.” “In the rockin’ chair?” he asked, his voice cracking. Elle nodded again. Evan’s eyes filled. “Where else?” he said. Elle noticed the confusion in her daughter’s eyes and thought, She’s so out of it. Before Elle could explain, Evan leaned into Tara’s ear and filled it with the bad news. “We’re one day too late. Grandma passed away last night.” Though delayed, Tara burst into tears. As they left the airport terminal, Elle walked alongside Evan. “How did you find her in New York?” she asked in a whisper. “Her cell phone’s been turned off for weeks.” She looked back at her daughter, who was already lagging behind. “It wasn’t easy,” he said, and shook his head. “Let’s just say…thank God I did.”

 

Author Bio:

Steven Manchester is the author of the #1 bestseller Twelve Months, Goodnight, Brian, and several other books. His work has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s The Early Show, CNN’s American Morning and BET’s Nightly News. Recently, three of Manchester’s short stories were selected “101 Best” for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

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My Thoughts
The Rockin' Chair is a very emotional read about an elderly man, known as Grandpa John, who loses his wife to Alzheimer's, to the point that she does not recognize him anymore. He has requested that his grandchildren come home but they are too late as Alice had passed away the night before. Each one of the grandchildren has emotional baggage, George, the eldest of the grandchildren, is a decorated war hero with issues from the war. Twins Evan and Tara, Evan is an emotional wreck from finding out his girlfriend cheated on him and Tara who has a small child and is an alcoholic and drug abuser. All three of these grandchildren left home to go out into the real world but find that in doing so, it was not what they had hoped. Grandpa John and his son Hank have been estranged for a long time due to something that happened during Hank's childhood. Even though Hank and his wife Elle live in what is called "the bunkhouse" on John's property. There is an emotional as well as physical bridge that separates Hank and his father and neither one are able to cross these bridges.

This book is very emotional and more than once I had tears to wipe away, but it is also a book of redemption, love and hope that Grandpa John hopes to instill in his fractured family and bring everyone closer. Characters that the reader can relate to. I read this book in a few sittings and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I received this book for review and was not monetarily compensated for my review.