Remembering to Forget

One morning changed everything about her life. But could it also set her free?
Graphic Designer Maggie Anderson has lived under her boyfriend’s tyranny for nearly two years…until she’s carjacked in New York. Will this terrifying experience be the end for Maggie – or the beginning of a freedom greater than she dares imagine? To gain that freedom, she’ll have to remember to forget everything about her old life…
Trevor Ashlock is existing, day by day, in the little town of Clayburn, Kansas. Surrounded by too many painful reminders of all he’s lost, he fills his time with work, trying desperately to forget.

So does the back cover copy intrigue you? What really caught my attention was the title. Remember to Forget. It raised all kinds of questions in my mind. What was the heroine trying to forget? Were there other secrets lingering in the background?

While this is the first book of Deb’s that I’ve read, many people have recommended her to me over the last two years. Now I understand why. Remember to Forget is filled with compelling characters thrown into situations that left me wondering how I would respond if faced with similar challenges.

Maggie has the opportunity to reinvent her life thrust on her unexpectedly. She decides to take it, and runs for her life across the country. In the process, she weaves a complicated story to protect herself. Soon it becomes hard to distinguish the truth from fiction. The only problem is she finds herself in a town filled with people she could love if she can just remember to forget her past.

Trevor is running from his own pain. He’s dealt with it, but it’s the kind of pain that hasn’t receded into the background. Instead he exists, desperate to fill each moment with activity until he is too busy to remember or live.

This book is a treat from the words carefully crafted by Deb to the beautiful layout of the book. Each chapter begins with a pull-quote on the face page – a mechanism that pulled me through the book. I kept thinking, I’ll read just one more chapter… and before I knew it another thirty minutes had evaporated. I could hardly put this book down, and when I did I kept wondering about what would happen next with the characters.

A theme that challenged me was the picture of God’s hand extended to Maggie through the people who reached out to help her in her journey. Through their actions she gently becomes aware of Him and that He might be more than a myth. This made me ask the question whether I am doing what I need to on a daily basis to extend His love in an active way in my daily life.

I highly recommend this book if you like romance mixed with women's fiction. It's one you won't easily forget.