January 2020 - Warnings all over the cover saying I’m going to need a box of tissues because I will cry my eyes out. Sounds perfect!

Couldn’t get past the Prologue it was so boring. Into the library donation box it goes!

Excellent ( )

Doss Michaels takes his wife Abbie on a canoe trip down the St. Marys River that runs between Georgia and Florida.  Abbie is dying of cancer, and this trip is one of her ten bucket list items.  Doss is a painter and former river guide who grew up poor, but he meets model Abigail Grace Eliot Coleman (later a designer), daughter of a senator, when he saves her from a mugging in Charleston.  The story alternates between events of their trip down the river, and their past.  They sneak away for the river trip because the senator thinks Abbie belongs in hospice, and spend much of it trying to evade being seen by others.  Amazingly, they manage on this trip to accomplish all but one of the ten bucket list items (and even that last one happens later).  I did feel that some of the bucket list items (pages 26-27, ride an antique carousel, do a loopty-loop in an old plane, sip wine on the beach, go skinny-dipping, swim with the dolphins, wet a lien, pose, dance with my husband, laugh so hard it hurts, and "ride the river all the way from Moniac") were pretty unusual, and I felt the plot was rather contrived to make them happen.  Nevertheless, I enjoyed Charles Martin's sweetly romantic story and the descriptions of the river. ( )

I picked this up in a great Amelia Island bookstore. It takes place along the St Mary's River which straddles the Florida-Georgia line and dumps out across from Amelia Island. I also recognized the author and like his work.
It's a fabulous story. I admit I was a little taken back by the sticker on the cover warning me I'd be heartbroken at the end (that's not usually my type of book), but I found the book more uplifting than sad. Doss grew up on the river and has dreams of becoming an artist. He's from a poor and abusive family but wins a scholarship to the College of Charleston where he meets Allie, the beautiful but practical daughter of the Senator of the state.
The story switches back and forth between their past lives and the present. Allie has cancer and is dying. Her last wish is to take a canoe ride down the St Mary's River with Doss, but her powerful father wouldn't allow such a thing. Doss 'kidnaps' her and they take off. It's a crazy, wild, and empowering trip yet bittersweet because it's the last one they'll take together.
Mr. Martin is a good writer and he has put together a powerful story of love and redemption. I highly recommend it. ( )

This is the third book I've ready by Charles Martin. While I wouldn't rate it as my favorite, it is still very well-written and emotionally gripping. I can't imagine what it's like to fight a raging disease that takes over every aspect of your life and marriage. But this book gives beautiful insight to the life of a caregiver. Doss is dedicated to his wife, Abbie, and her needs. But Doss is also human and humans are prone to err, as proven by his dinner "date" while still married to his wife. No, a secret affair never blossoms, but it does show that even caregivers need a sense of connection. Caregivers (and patients!) miss the affection, sex, physical and emotional aspects that we associate with dating and marriage.

It's a beautiful story and I'm sure you'll find it enlightening as well as thought-provoking. ( )