To Know You by Shannon Ethridge and Kathryn Mackel

This is such a good novel it is hard to know where to begin.
Julia Whittaker has a past. A past that includes two daughters, fathered by different men, given up for adoption. That was before she met her husband Matt. Now, after all these years, she has to find her daughters.

Julia and Matt's son, Dillon, has beaten the odds on his liver disease for thirteen years. But now the only hope is a transplant and the transplant list is too long. No one in the immediate family is a match so Dillon's only hope for survival is his two older half-sisters. Julia hasn't seen either of them since she abandoned them. How can she possibly ask them to sacrifice for a half-brother they've never known? Can they even forgive her for what she did?

This is a very well crafted novel that tackles a number of issues. The temptation to infidelity is a prominent one. Birth out of wedlock is another. Forgiveness is a huge topic in this book, within an extended family and within a marriage. There is a controlling husband and a wife's desire for “freedom” of some kind, leading to the issue of openness and honesty in marriage.

The authors have created a powerful story of wrong decisions, forgiveness and hope. There are several stories within the main narrative. There is Julia, her two pregnancies by different men, and her marriage to a loving Christian man. There are the lives of her estranged daughters, one married and the other in a troubled relationship. The stories are so well developed they intertwine together to an ending that requires you have your tissue nearby.

Well written with realistic and well developed characters, this is a novel you need to read.

I'm taking part in a blog tour of this book and you can see more reviews here.

Shannon Ethridge is a best-selling author, speaker, and certified life coach with a master's degree in counseling/human relations. She is the author of 21 books including the Every Woman's Battle series. She is a frequent guest on radio and TV programs and mentors aspiring writers through her BLAST Program. Learn more at www.shannonethridge.com.
Kathryn Mackel is a best-selling author and acclaimed screenwriter for Disney and Fox. She was on the screenwriting team for Left Behind: the Movie, and Frank Peretti's Hangman's Curse. She and her husband live in Boston. Learn more at www.kathrynmackel.com.

Thomas Nelson, 368 pages. Purchase a copy here.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through a publicity group for the purpose of this review.