Kellie O'Connor's Reviews > The Sweetness of Forgetting

Wow!! Was all I could say after finishing this beautiful book last night, November 1,2022!
The story takes place in Cape Cod. At age 36, Hope is no stranger to bad news. She is recently divorced,lost her Mother two years ago to cancer, and raising a 12 year old daughter named Annie. Hope runs a family owned bakery started by her Mamie( French for Grandmother) many years ago. Hope is in danger of losing this precious bakery and she is also nearly bankrupt. Too make matters worse, Mamie has Alzheimer's and is slowly drifting away. She lives in a care facility for those with Alzheimer's. Hope & Annie are very close to Mamie. I'd say that's a lot to handle all at once!!! Mamie has secrets locked away in her memory which leads Hope, Annie and Gavin, a close friend of Hopes, a mystery to unravel. This mystery weaves throughout the entire book.
This book is poignantly written. It involves characters that are well developed,very relatable,down to earth and believable. My first book by Kristen Harmel was The Forest Of Vanishing Stars. As much as I enjoyed that book, this book is notches higher and more personal!
Love, family, second chances, tradition, survival,loss, faith and new beginnings are strong themes in this book. Baking and recipes that are handed down through generations, recipes included in the book are a big part of solving Mamie's mystery to her past. We all make decisions and choices every day. However, some decisions and choices are made for us and we cannot change that. We can't change our past but we can change our present and hopefully our future and carry out our families legacies. There is a sweetness to forgetting and a joy of remembering. We need to carry on what our aging relatives taught us as we were growing up 💕 There in lies the joy of remembering 💜
I can relate to Hope and Annie because my Grandma in her later years was diagnosed with early Senility. She was my friend & pen pal!! I still have every letter,card and postcard that she sent to me... these are my favorite treasures! It was hard to watch my loving, caring, sweet and vibrant Grandma forgetting things that she used to know. This never changed who she was!! 😊 Unlike Mamie , my Grandma didn't have any secrets, her life was an open book! She passed away quietly in her sleep years ago.
In the authors notes, Kristen Harmel says that this book changed her life and writing career in many ways. I urge you to read her notes, they contain many treasures!!
This book is so beautiful and a joy to read. It's heartfelt and has a natural flow from beginning to end. It has layers and layers of depth to it. I learned so many things such as how France and America refused to believe that Hitler would attack until was too late 😪. I also never knew the Muslim population saved so very many Jewish people and took care of them. Have you ever been to a play,concert, or a movie where at the end, just before the curtains fell, the entire audience stood up and applauded? Well, this is how I felt reading this book and I believe that you'll feel the same! It has a bit of everything in it for everyone to enjoy and learn. This book is near and dear to my heart and one I won't forget!! I very highly recommend this emotionally moving book to all who believe that there is a sweetness of forgetting!!
Enjoy and Happy Reading!! 💐