Kimberly T. (HeartsongChica) reviewed on 7/1/2011

I enjoyed The Caregiver, Book 1 in the Families of Honor series, so much that I stayed up late and finished it in one reading. I found Lucy, Calvin, Mattie, and Graham each compelling in their own ways. Lucy is trying to overcome the abuse her late husband heaped on her, damaging her self-confidence as much as the physical wounds he doled out damaged her body. Calvin is recovering from the pain of a broken relationship. Mattie is fighting breast cancer and watching her faith slip away into depression. Graham is the one who best knows how to perk Mattie up, but these two don't seem to realize their feelings for each other.

This book showed me some parallels of abuse survivors and those fighting cancer that I'd never noticed before. In many ways, they have similar emotional battles. One of my favorite quotes from the book is something Lucy tells Mattie: "Living is sometimes easy, Mattie. But surviving... surviving is the difficult thing. And that is what makes you grow and become strong."

The Caregiver, like Barbara Cameron's Quilts of Lancaster County series, tackles big issues but has many light-hearted moments, too. I can't wait to read the next book in the Families of Honor series, The Protector, which just released this week.

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