Promises to Keep: Diane's Story

by Dean Hughes

In Dean Hughes's Hearts of the Children series, Diane left her abusive husband, Greg, to protect herself and their daughter, Jenny. At book signings and speaking events, the question Dean hears more than any other is, "What happened to Diane?"

Promises to Keep picks up Diane's story years later. Diane is a single mom in her late thirties now, and Jenny is about to turn sixteen. Like most teenagers, Jenny is seeking her independence, and she and Diane are feeling tension in their relationship. Greg seems to offer Jenny the freedom she desires, and she keeps threatening to go live with him, causing Diane to look at the meaning of her own life. She has met Spencer, a man she is willing to consider marrying, but the complications in both families make such a marriage seem impossible. In which direction does happiness lie-- or can Diane find it within herself?

Genres: Lds Fiction, Lds, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Christian Fiction, Religion, Romance

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2008

About the author

Dean Hughes is the author of more than eighty books for young readers, including the popular sports series Angel Park All-Stars, the Scrappers series, the Nutty series, the widely acclaimed companion novels Family Pose and Team Picture, and Search and Destroy. Soldier Boys was selected for the 2001 New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list. Dean Hughes and his wife, Kathleen, have three children and six grandchildren. They live in Midway, Utah.

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to confess that I have not read Hughes' Children of the Promise and Hearts of the Children series, but this book makes me want to do that even more than I have wanted to so far. It's the story of one of the grandchildren, a woman who divorced her abusive husband and has struggled to raise their daughter with no help from him. Hughes wrote the book because his readers wanted to know what happened to her.

It was interesting to me to see how the author brought in the other family members, people who are well-known to those who've read his two series, without a lot of exposition and just enough information so that I, who haven't read the other books, could still appreciate who they were and how they related to each other.

I have watched women struggle with manipulative, abusive ex-husbands, and I ached for Diane as she tried to raise her daughter in spite of her ex-husband's efforts to undermine her values and tempt their daughter away from her. When he convinced the daughter to leave her mother and move in with him, I remembered seeing similar things happen to other divorced women I have known. I was very glad she managed to avoid fighting him back because that would only have lowered her to his level. It came down to a matter of trusting the daughter to see who her father really was, and when that happened, Hughes managed it with just the right tone and description.

I think the thing that impressed me the most about this book is how well Dean Hughes was able to get into Diane's head. Male authors can write female characters and vice versa, but it's always nice when they do it as well as Hughes did this. He put me right there with her, and I believed I was in a woman's head the entire time. What wonderful sympathy this writer has for someone in such a situation. To convey that so well is true genius in my opinion.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I loved all of the Children of the Promise and Hearts of the Children books, I decided I would read this latest addition. Overall, it was an entertaining addition to these series. I enjoyed seeing how Diane had progressed. However, I felt that most of the characters in this novel were slightly overdone. Jenny seemed to be an extreme in personality as did Spencer and Greg. Yet, I still thought the novel was a fun read and I would recommend it to anyone that has read the other books in the series.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dean Hughes is the author of one of my favorite WWII historical fiction novels, Children of the Promise. This book follows up the story of one of the grandkids of the characters in that series (and the one that follows: "Hearts of the Children") that was really unfinished. It takes place several years later when Diane's daughter is 15 and going through the typical rebellious teenage years. The main conflict of the story is the tug-of-war Diane is constantly feeling with her ex-husband (whom she divorced when her daughter was a baby because he was physically abusive) over their teenage daughter, Jenny. Hughes did a great job of making the situation real. I felt like I was Diane and was dealing with Greg's manipulations and lies and all that myself! And while it was awful to feel so powerless, I was amazed that the author had drawn me in and made me feel that way.

I just have to share my favorite quote from the book when Diane is talking to her 80-something grandma:
"That's why everyone tells me, Grandma, but it drives me crazy. I know Greg, and I know how he twists things. He'll take control of her and he'll have her hating me. You can't believe the things he's told her already. According to him, he didn't ever do a think to me. The problem was all with me -- that I didn't ... you know ... *satisfy him* the way a wife should."
Bea glanced up, and Diane saw the flash in her eyes. "I think I'll see if the boys left any baseball bats around this place. I'd like to find that man and beat him over the head with one -- just to see how much he likes it. They should've put that coward in jail where he belongs."

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I expected to love this book, but I didn't expect it to do to me what it did. It helped me put my life into perspective - something my daughters have wanted me to do for several years, only I didn't know how to do it. I know now after reading this book that I need to start finding my own happiness and not depending on my daughters to provide me with my happiness. As I learned in this book my daughters can't be truly happy, until I'm happy - so this is my goal. I have to give this book all the credit for me coming to this realization, it caught me when I was really ready to listen.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I wondered what had happened to Diane after she divorced her abusive husband. While many of the other reviewers gave this a low rating, I thought this was a fantastic quick read. The characters were fleshed out and believable. I recommend this book to anyone who has read the Children of the Promise series.

[Rex Cluff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short sequel to Dean Hughes series Hearts of the Children and Children of the Promise. It follows the life of one of the characters in the longer series, Diane Thomas, and how her life evolved. Standing on its own merits, the book is about surviving spousal abuse and the angst of raising a child with ongoing interference from the absent spouse. Both Diane and her daughter, Jenny, face the crises posed by the absent and abusive father. Jenny has to realize that her Dad has been a liar, a controller, a manipulator and a cheat. She evolves from a rebellious teenager to a mature young adult. Diane has to learn to make a life for herself without Jenny and trust that she will eventually come around. The love interest for Diane is a side plot which eventually helps Diane to gain a bit of personal happiness to go along with her professional accomplishments and her daughter's maturity. Overall, I loved the book. It is a tear-jerker and probably belongs in a romantic film in the Hallmark Romance category.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dean Hughes ties up loose ends for Diane from his Hearts of the Children series (which itself was a continuation of the Children of the Promise series, each of which consist of five books) in this novel, and it’s nice to revisit the old stories and characters from those books I read a decade or so ago.

This book finds Diane in her late 30s and her daughter, Jenny, a 16-year-old in high school during the late 1980s. She endures some of the things that a single mom and divorcee has to go through (like a dead-beat ex who doesn’t pay child support or alimony but wins over the child with gifts) and getting “set up” for dates. It’s a fairly enjoyable story.

My biggest problem with this – and several of Hughes’ other books, including the series mentioned above – is that his main characters are usually Democrats in Utah that seem to know all the right answers while all the Republicans around them are ignorant because everyone else seems to be stereotypically insensitive to the poor and minorities, and that is not my experience in Utah (where I have lived for all but 2 of my 48 years). I have a bunch of friends who are LDS and Utah Democrats, and they are typically pretty good people, but the elitism to suggest that only they have ever truly thought about politics or that they exclusively have the right answers pertaining to the best ways to live according to the teachings of Jesus (while the rest of us just are a bunch of sheep) is one of my hang-ups with Hughes’ books. Aside from that, the stories are pretty good, but I just wanted to put that out there.

[Marci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dean Hughes has finished his massive series on the Thomas family with this book, and it has all the elements fans like me loved about the series. The characters have depth, the situations are realistic, the setting details ground you in the time period, and although the answers aren't always easy, everyone you really care about learns to have happiness.

I thought Dean Hughes addressed the princess aspect of Diane's character really well. She gets a chance at happiness without getting Mr. Perfect Prince Charming, and yet, her developing relationship with Spence has great echoes of a fairy story ending, enough to make it feel like "happily ever after" is possible without being syrupy sweet.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, so this was 10 times better than "killer Summer", but still only a book to read if you have absolutely nothing else to do in your life. It is also about a Mormon family, which isn't a bad thing, I just didn't know there was such a thing as Mormon fiction. I kept getting it confused with Amish because I've read a lot of Amish fiction. Even though Mormons are nothing like the Amish from what I know. Anyways, it's a light read. Daughter gets mad at mom and moves in with dad that had abused mom. Mom is distraught. Dad hits daughter. Daughter comes to senses and moves back in with mom. Mom falls in love with someone else. The end.

[Hanna Waldram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic, as all Dean Hughes books I’ve read have been. I struggled with how many stars to give this one, because it was so infuriating at times. But it was only infuriating because the characters were written so realistically, life is messy and there are bad people in the world. So maybe I should give it 5 stars because of how well it was written, but I docked it one because I wanted to throw the book at a wall way too many times.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are into THE CHILDREN OF THE PROMISE series, this is a good wrap-up to the story of Diane. I put it in the same category as all of the 2nd generation books--not nearly as good as the first generation stories.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good conclusion for Diane. I like how Hughes deals with real-life problems and issues in his books. I also like it that everyone is not uber conservative.

[Karli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuation of Diane’s story from Hearts of the Children. Diane left her abusive husband and was making her way as a single mother raising a teenage daughter. In the book it highlights the struggles of single parenting, working to provide while managing a work-life balance, struggles with loneliness, struggles and competition between exes with children in the middle, working towards that “happy” instead of just being happy now, and how children can often become disillusioned about how they feel for a parent by subtle manipulation of the other. How much parents are deeply attached to their children, and how quickly children can disregard and under appreciate the great parental sacrifice for them.

I was really glad he wrote this book, because I hated how Diane’s story was the only one that hadn’t resolved from the other series. I like Dean Hugh’s writing style, it always keeps me reading...BUT in some areas I felt there could have been better dialog and more descriptive writing, especially with what was going on underneath with the characters.

In some ways I feel like a lot of the same dialogue is repeated through out the series over and over, which I’m sure he did on purpose, but it sometimes sounded too repetitious...especially the parts about the Thomas legacy and being modern pioneers. It was meant to be emphasized, but he went a little overboard. Haha

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written as a bonus book to the “Hearts of the Children” series, Promises to Keep follows the story of Diane and her daughter, Jenny, ten years after the “Hearts” series has ended. It’s now the mid-1980s, Jenny is in High School and Diane has gone back to school to improve her current teaching career.

Dean Hughes fans will appreciate revisiting the characters of “Hearts” as well as the many 80s cultural references. The book centers on Diane’s struggles as a single mother and the challenges of living through a divorce—especially when your ex-husband is a manipulative jerk. I enjoyed it but not as much as the “Hearts” series itself.

[Patti Jo Iverson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Promises to keep

It has been a while since I read the rest of the series, but I knew the storyline because of the way Dean writes. I could be sad with Diane as she struggled with Jenny and angry with Greg the way he treated them both. I was happy she met such a wonderful man to share her life with. I appreciate the insight that he shares and the knowledge of the gospel that flows in his stories. I have laughed, cried, smiled, been frustrated and uplifted reading this. Great book, great author.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed his Promise of the Children and Hearts of the Children series and this was a follow up on what happened to Diane Thomas. If you enjoyed those series, you will enjoy this book. It was realistic and the characters were relatable. I like that it didn't wrap everything up in a tight bow with happy endings all the way around. It was a nice follow up to the series.

[Stephen Ravsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, A little too repetitive about Diane's beauty, tell me a few times and that enough. Grandma Bea's funeral dialogue was a little too long. Surprised that Greg could be such a rat all by himself! Maybe share the blame a little bit.

Good dialogue about teenage parent relationships. Ending was good, came to a peaceful end

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dean Hughes is really a great story-teller and author of LDS books. He is so keen and insightful in understanding a wide spectrum of what goes on in people's heads and hearts, especially in the LDS culture. So although his books are fiction, they're filled with immense truisms. Reading this book #4 in his Promises to Keep series has motivated me to go back and reread all of them.

[Mckenzie Olsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was well written and had a good story. It just didn’t appeal to my type of books. I wished there to be more of a focus on the romance, but it just wasn’t that type of book and that’s okay! I also don’t like reading books with lots of politics in it, but it was really a pretty good book. I did really like the conclusion and how everything turned out. Plus there was good character growth.

[Sheila Summerhays · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time around

I related to Diane, having been divorced after an abusive marriage. But what I like most is that the family is not afraid of their religion, or of differing view points. I like that a lot.
I recommend this yo anyone who likes Dean Hughes.,

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple story but I liked it. I felt it gave more closure to his stories about the Thomas family. I liked the theme that you don’t find happiness in others but you need to find it inside of yourself.

[Andrea M Gibb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Children of the Promise Series as well as Hearts of the Children, and like many others, I guess, I wondered what happened to Diane, so I was glad when this book came out. I loved getting to know the family beginning with WWII and on down. This was a great ending.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read all of Dean Hughes Children of the Promise series as well as Writing on the Wall so it was nice to read another book about Diane and what happened to her after she left Greg. It was another solid book.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Compelling read, as all of Dean Hughes' books are.
However, I found the stereotypes- divorced dad who never pays child support, etc, really cloying. The final scene where the main lead is talking in third person is confusing and seems forced.... Not my fav.

[Jacqui · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book. I was easily hooked and I didn't want to stop reading after picking it up even though there were times I had to put it down.

[Landon Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Jessica Fullmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mixing families is always hard. Divorce or death is hard. I hope I never have to go through it and I love hearing those who do make the best of it. I love when women make a stand to abusive men.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! So glad to have a story that revisited the Thomas family in the 80’s. Very real and tender.

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really touching story!