Best-Laid Plans Often Have Their Wrinkles

Moments We Forget by Beth K. Vogt

  Jillian Hennessey, protagonist of Moments We Forget (Tyndale House Publishers) by Beth K. Vogt, expects things in her life will be headed in a positive direction now that she’s made it through the bulk of her breast cancer treatment. She looks forward to finally getting to enjoy her brand-new marriage, renovating her kitchen, and maybe even having a baby, as soon as her medication schedule allows. But, then again, nothing in life has ever gone quite that smoothly for this middle sister. Feeling scatter-brained from the aftermath of chemo, Jill finds herself unable to keep a job. As if the stress of unemployment isn’t enough, she soon learns that her husband is not only uninterested in adoption, but also adamantly against having children at all. Jill can’t believe that his desire to remain childless hasn’t come up before in their relationship. How can she be happy without children? How can she fulfill her vow to love her husband when they seem to be on such different pages? Meanwhile, Jill continues to struggle under the pressure of the accomplishments of her two sisters. Johanna has a prestigious career as a pharmacist, Payton displays brains and brawn as a full-time college student and volleyball coach, and Jill—well she’s Just Jillian. Tensions have been high between the daughters of the Thatcher family for years now, but lately it seems that they can’t find any common ground at all. As she struggles to keep the peace in her family and rebuild her ever-crumbling life, Jill starts to see that her two sisters might not have it all figured out after all. Maybe what the three of them have needed most all along is each other’s support and a little bit of hope. Beth K. Vogt tells the story of an inspirational journey toward meaningful family relationships and faith in a God who never abandons his people. Vogt handily balances the motivations and concerns of all three Thatcher sisters as she weaves Payton, Jillian, and Johanna’s stories together into one novel. The reader is able to get a look into each of their view points as chapters alternate between first person narration for Jillian and a close third person narration for Payton and Johanna. The choice to utilize more than one point of view gives the reader a chance to get to know each sister individually, making their interactions with each other all the more meaningful. Each of the women goes through her own set of true-to-life struggles, ensuring that nearly every woman can find something to relate to on these pages. Though this book is the second installment in the Thatcher Sisters Series, it also stands on its own, teaching new readers about the past lives of the characters as new challenges arise. Moments We Forget will be available for purchase on May 7, 2019.