strengthThe Strength of a Sparrow by Tim “Dr Hope” Anders

From the cover:

The Strength of a Sparrow is based on a true story- the story of the author’s parents. The character of a tenacious young woman, Bouvette Sherwood, who is a successful New York Broadway producer and actress, drives the plot. In the mid 1940s Bouvette meets and falls in love with a charming alcoholic, Hughie Hewitt. He has a secret though, which he keeps from her during their intense courtship- he is a Catholic priest. Their love story unfold into a kaleidoscope of intrigue, suspense, betrayal, and romance.

My thoughts:

What would you risk for love? What would you be willing to give up for the life you dream of? Bouvette “Boo” Sherwood and Hughie Hewitt risk everything to be together, including the wrath of the church and the respect of family and friends. And they do manage to find happiness together for a while. Boo’s strength is obvious throughout the story. Her dedication to her children and love for Hughie come through on every page. Her humor and poitive outlook are noteable, as are Hughie’s, although the characters in the book find themselves more amusing than I did.

The way the church deals with the situation is shameful, but I do understand that Hughie was blatantly breaking the rules of priesthood. It is not my place to question whether priests should have to be celebate, but Hughie does bring it up several times.  For him, his love for Boo enhances his vocation, it doesn’t detract from it.

Needless to say, with forces stacked against them, it is not all a happy story. There are definitely hardships for Boo, Hughie and their children.

This is truly a touching love story that had me in tears, probably more so because I knew it was based on the stories a woman told her son about her true love, his father.

About the author:

Tim”Dr. Hope” Anders is an award-winning children’s book author who writes under the pseudnym Dr. Hope, J.A.P.D. (Just A Pretend Doctor). He credits his mother’s optimistic “never quit” attitude as his inspiration to his Life Lessons series of children’s books. After his mother’s death he told himself that one day he would write her story. The Strength of a Sparrow is it. To learn more about the author and his work, please visit his website.

Thanks:

Thanks to Marti Avila from Alpine Publishing for sending me a copy of this book to review.

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