Acts of Contrition

by Jennifer Handford

Mary Morrissey is living the life of her dreams. She has a loving husband of ten years, Tom, two daughters, and twin boys. Her parents are just down the road. Her three sisters are nearby. Perfect―some might even say she is living the American Dream. But beneath the shiny veneer, Mary hasn’t taken a calm breath in years. She lives in a constant state of panic, afraid that the secret she’s kept hidden for so long will be revealed, that it will shatter the life she’s worked so hard to build. When Mary’s handsome and addictively charismatic ex-boyfriend Landon James reappears during his high profile Senate campaign, she feels the truth bubbling to the surface and knows she’s powerless to stop it. Mary has spent years trying to forget him, and now he’s on every TV she sees. A conditional Catholic, Mary bargains with God, negotiating deals that will keep her happy life undisturbed for another day. She prays for strength and confesses her sins―anything that might let her sleep at night under the weight of the guilt she carries from lying to her husband and family for the entirety of her marriage. When Tom learns what Mary’s been hiding, what once seemed unfathomable―a deep, heartbreaking divide between them―is now their new normal. Can they find a way to rebuild their life together? Is forgiveness possible? Acts of Contrition is a richly drawn story of faith, family loyalty, and forgiveness, even in the face of moral ambiguity, guilt, and shattered trust.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Marriage, Drama, Book Club, Adult Fiction

318 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2014

About the author

A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Jennifer Handford now lives in the Washington, DC, area with her husband and three children. One of three first-place finalists in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest in 2010, she published her first novel, DAUGHTERS FOR A TIME, in 2012. People magazine hailed it as “a wrenching, resonant debut about infertility, cancer and adoption. Grab your hankies.” In 2014, ACTS OF CONTRITION was published. THE LIGHT OF HIDDEN FLOWERS was released in November 2015 and nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Midwest Book Review called it "A deftly crafted and deeply engaging story from beginning to end." Jennifer is busy at work on her fourth book, a historical piece of fiction about a grown woman searching for her biological mother. She also blogs about Middle Grade fiction.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will be nice and say 2.5-3 But honestly I did not like this book. It was cold, clinical a mother trying to right a wrong that was done years ago. Yet she was punishing herself by not allowing her husband to love her and making deals with priests. This could of been a great story. I didn't like how it was written. The writer needed to add more emotion to her characters. I couldn't wait to get through this novel. Thats bad. Wanting an ending? Basically it was how it was wrote, it didn't engage me, the characters were primary but weakly depicted..

[Judy Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary is a very likeable character, a strong protagonist readers will relate to, as she is the perfect wife and mother of two daughters and twin sons. She is real and flawed. She loves her family and everything it stands for; she has values and morals.

Even before she married at age thirty, an attorney in her earlier career, her real passion ---to be married and raising a family, similar to her simple, but loving Catholic Italian upbringing. She deserves to happy, having waited so long for this dream.

Tom, her husband is every woman’s dream, and mirrors his wife’s passion by supporting his family, a caring father, offering love and financial security. (I found myself wanting to be a part of this dynamic unit).

However, Mary has a problem. She suffers from an addiction. She has an addiction to people. Mary, finds herself in an unhealthy roller coaster relationship for years, with charismatic and political Landon James. He was charming, good looking, successful, ambitious and she fell deeply in love. However, Landon was very non-committal, and did not share her happily ever after. She continues waiting for him, addicted to being with him, hanging on his every gesture, waiting for that perfect ending which never came.

After such time, she gives up on Landon (not out of her mind), and meets Tom (the one) and they marry. Now in the middle of her perfect life – her deal with the devil comes back to haunt her.

When Landon calls, her heart melts and she loses her senses. She has been living with the guilt from the past with a secret she has buried. She has kept this secret and lie, in order to protect her own marriage and family.

The deep buried secret now resurfaces, as Landon in running for Senate, a high profile position - her past is about to destroy her perfectly planned life.

A thought- provoking, intense, and poignant story of a moral dilemma--disclosing the truth, versus burying it deep within a perfect marriage. When faced with the question – What would you do, and are you prepared for the fallout? Do you trust your love and your partnership to see you through the most difficult times? By experiencing the bad, can you get to an even better place?

Beautifully written story for Easter, as we are celebrate Sunday (same as setting at the end of the book). A time of redemption, love, grace, and forgiveness. There are many parallels within ACTS OF CONTRITION, as Jennifer unfolds masterfully.

Told from past to present, from both points of view (Mary and Tom), ACTS OF CONTRITION is deeply moving and full of emotion. A story which will be attractive to a wide audience of readers-from young mothers, wives, to older women, of any faith. An ideal book for book clubs or discussions.

There are other secondary characters in this contemporary fiction, carrying out the theme of “addiction”, in other ways, such as Tom’s brother, Patrick – an alcoholic, his father, also an alcoholic and not so faithful husband, Mary’s sister, Teresa with secrets of her own, and Tom’s mother, who has held strong, and faithful throughout.

I loved the quote in the READERS GUIDE, at the end of the book by the author: "If Mary were sorry—for the sake of it, because she did wrong and was regretful for it—then her contrition might have been “perfect.” But Mary was seduced by the good life: her husband, her children, and the life she built with them. In a sense, she made a deal with the devil. So she was contrite, yes, but the reader wonders about her contrition. Certainly it was imperfect. She was more concerned about getting caught, about losing what she had, than about coming clean for the sake of it. Is this to say she was a bad person? Absolutely not. It’s to say that she was human.”

Highly recommend this compelling read, and look forward to reading “Daughters for a Time” her earlier award-winning book. As a Professor of Writing at American University in Washington, D.C., Hanford’s strong and keen writing style is most reflective in this powerful and satisfying second novel. http://judithdcollins.booklikes.com/p...

A special thank you to Amazon Publishing and NetGalley, for providing a complimentary ARC, in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. And I never lie about books...

I fell in love with this book very early on. There is some very beautiful writing here. I love the language the author uses. She just puts everything out there so easily. Word choices are not canned or commonplace. Things are described in a way that makes the reader easily understand and sympathize with Mary. I felt at home reading this book. Though the topic of the plot wasn't always a comfortable one, it was written in a way that made me feel as if I had been welcomed into the character's home and life.

All of the characters were full and real. They interacted realistically with one another and for the most part responded realistically. I thought she did a wonderful job portraying a full picture of Mary, both as her own person and in terms of the roles she plays...mother, wife, etc. The supporting characters are written just as well. None of the characters featured felt like an afterthought; they all served their purpose and the writing fully committed to completing their portions of the story.

There seemed to be little to no force in the forwarding of the plot. It progressed very naturally without feeling boring or trite. The balance of Mary's past and present life are woven into the story line very well. There were no instances where the juxtaposition felt odd or left me confused.

Overall, I think this book managed to remain engaging without being extravagant. I could definitely go for a sequel to follow the events after the close of this book, but I didn't feel that the ending lacked any sense of reasonable closure.

[Esther Walker · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book as a free read from my Amazon Prime account. Well it's true not everything for free is a good thing!! I finished the book because I kept expecting more from the book, however, when I reached the end I was terribly disappointed. Tom and Mary are a couple with four children, Tom manages to forget his prior romance and Mary cannot. She holds a secret from Tom and when she tells him continues to play the martyr roll like she has done in all her relationships. There is not a character in this book that I liked.

[Faith Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Family secrets…everyone’s got them. The secrets we keep can either tear our families apart or bind us together. For Mary Morrissey the coin has been tossed and she’s been waiting for over a decade to see which side it will land on.

“I’ve made my family a happy home, but it was a house built with stolen bricks.”

There was no need for me to judge Mary, she did a thorough job of that herself. She’s weighed down with the guilt of her deception but, despite her morally corrupt choices, I empathized with her. The reason I could identify with Mary was entirely due to Hanford’s brilliant skill at creating a distinctive narrative for her. Mary’s voice is honest and without guile, as if the entire novel was a diary of sorts.

“The truth wasn’t pinning me down, I was pinning it down, pushing is mercilessly against the wall with my hand over its mouth.”

What made this story interesting to me was the all access pass into the shifting dynamics and subtle nuances of Mary’s marriage. Hanford manages to show how completely a single bad decision can slowly eat away at a relationship in the form of the lies and omissions continuously needed to bury the truth.

I thoroughly enjoyed Acts of Contrition and highly recommend it!

http://faithsimone.com/2014/12/11/boo...

[Dee Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed Feelings

A good character study, though I would have preferred it to be less preachy. I find it lacks sufficient insight into the psychological damage and risk a woman causes herself by having a long-term, involved relationship without her partner showing a willingness to commit.

[Gary Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and read it in just a few days. I'll definitely check out her other novels, depending on their subject matter. It was refreshing to read someone who has at least a sympathetic view of faith and church. Great characterization, great food for thought, accurate portrayal of some of the intimacies of marriage and extended family--overall, a nicely written, well-paced book.

[*Marsha,Marsha,Marsha* It's always Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful 4.5 read.
I thank Netgalley for the privilege of having this to review.

I was not sure what I was going to be reading or reviewing, even though I had read the blurb. This book was SO much more than I had ever hoped it would be. The story of Mary and Tom and their marriage with the ghost of Landon always at the edges kept me reading and reading and reading. So much it reminded me of: lost love, my own marriage, the secrets that couples keep and the utter work it takes to make a good marriage. This book explores the nuances of a woman who wanted so badly to have the love of a good man and family; the traditional family, the Catholic religion and its rituals all part of her life. I found myself walking with Mary as she made lunches for her children, got them ready for school, her devotion to them as well as her husband. But there always hovered in the background Landon James. Her first love, her addiction that followed her right into her marriage. Mary loves Tom. She does. But her 10 year co dependent relationship with Landon has left her needy, wanting that perfect family and that life she could not get from him.
Acts of Contritions touches on so many avenues of forgiveness. What some will do for it; what others will do to avoid it; and what some women are willing to put up with in order to achieve it. I felt so for Mary, for her desperate need for Tom to understand, somehow. And I felt for Tom, and his own insecurities when it came to Mary and what had existed with Landon. This is a beautiful story of marriage and family and the secrets that affect couples for a lifetime. It gave me pause to think on my own life, and how things can always turn out some other way. I highly recommend this book to women who simply need to read about normal women and marriage and its struggles.

[Kim Weiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books--and there are a few of them out there--where most of the action takes place years before the timeframe of the book. Ten years before the book begins, the protagonist, Mary, betrayed her husband. He found out about it, got very mad at her (understandably), and little by little, he gets over it and begins to trust her again. That's more or less the "plot" of the book. Told in first person, much of the book is taken up with Mary's thoughts about how she loves her children. Handford is a good writer--she thinks of many different ways to describe a mother's love--but it still gets repetitive after a while.

A more serious problem is the character of Sally. This is also one of those books--and there are also a few out there--where a child character is ridiculously un-childlike. Sally is 9 when the story begins, but her main hobby is comparing myths to Bible stories, especially in the areas of temptation and sin. Really? Throughout the book, she says the most profound things, things that only the most incredibly gifted child would say. It annoys me when authors can't write a child character without making her a child prodigy intellectual. She would make a good friend for the 15 year old Virginia Woolf expert I met in the last book I read.

Overall, I could see many women enjoying this book, if they like a more literary type of novel. I need more action and humor in books, so I can only give it a medium rating.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Change the number!

There are actually two protagonists here, Mary and Tom and their individual POVs take place in the chapters. The reader finds out in later chapters what it is that Mary is keeping from Tom.

Landon James, the man from her past whom she can't seem to forget, has made the news and Tom again feels insecure in his relationship with Mary. His appearance on television has Mary reminiscing about her time with him.

Missing is the intense anxiety that Mary should be feeling instead of her almost lack of concern should Tom find out what she's keeping from him. Not really a lack of concern but more a depth of feeling in such a situation. Sure she's preoccupied at times but she certainly does not appear anxious.

When the dam finally breaks, her reasoning to Tom makes no sense. I find myself yelling to Mary "Change your stupid phone number!"

I like the symbolism of the chapter titles and also Ash Wednesday, symbolic of forgivenness, a rite the Catholic Church recognizes. It's fitting for this phase in Mary's life.

There are a few memorable lines in here: "But why would he forgive me?"

"The same reason why other people forgive. The weight of carrying the pain gets to be too much. At some point we have to do what God asks of us and let go."

I find myself looking for a sequel to this one; none is apparent.

[Nenette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keeping a major secret for ten years!!!! Any devout Catholic would not be able to do that (in my opinion), but whatever one believes in, Mary's situation depended solely on her decision alone - to keep quiet or not. She decided not too; she came clean and she suffered the consequences.

Here is a story that is plucked from ordinary characters living an ordinary life. Until the truth came out, until the life she once knew was no more, then nothing is ordinary anymore. Mary wanted to confess and still have the life pre-expose, but she was asking for too much.

A lot of life lessons here:

1. If nothing is wrong, don't fix it. If not for pride, or maybe she still loved Landon - this must have been the prompt for Mary to seek Landon with her newly born daughter.

2. Be content. One couldn't have it all.

3. Do not lie, do not cheat, do not deceive.

4. Time heals...always.

5. Forgive. It is good for your heart.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like book . I think the story line was ok. I felt like the book got "good" half way through it but it did not really last long. I felt that if the author would have kept the pass part all together and the present all together it might have been a little bit better. I don't think I would read this book again. I felt by the 3 chapter I could not wait for it to get over. The book is about lies that have gone to far and the main character is trying to hard to get out of it that lead to more lies and more lies and then leads to self distraction over all the author did a ok job telling a story but it was all over the place and at some points it felt like it was repeating its self over and over again.



I was given a ecopy of this book for free for my honest review of this book.

[Stacie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Mary has a good life. She's married to a man that she loves, has 4 wonderful children and is close to her family. But Mary has a secret she's been keeping for 10 long years and it's about to come out.

Honestly, it was pretty obvious what the secret was early on in the story and by the time Mary confessed I was ready to pull my hair out. The rest of the book explores faith, marriage and the thoughts of rebuilding when everything you know is based on a lie. It was an okay book but very slow and I think more of a character study which is not my favorite genre.

[Brittany · Rating 1 out of 5]

My biggest problem with this book is the main character Marty. I do not understand her obsession with her ex boyfriend. At a certain point I really thought that she had some type of mental illness. Or maybe the author didn't do a good enough job developing his character. He came off as a regular guy. Nothing that he did came off as especially bad.
Also I felt like her religion was more a distraction than an important part of the story. This book just wasn't my cup of tea.

[Kristina Pullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in less than 48 hours. Very good and gripping tale.

[Laura B · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I originally read this several years ago and remember liking it quite a bit. This time, I did enjoy it, but the way the author portrayed this loving family is far from believable. It got old after a while because their “perfect” family was far too perfect, way too sweet, and left me with cavities. And that’s my only complaint.

I do recommend this novel because it is easy to read, and if I were to rate this as you’d rate a movie, it would be PG. If you enjoy women’s fiction, especially with a lot of children, not bother by some Catholicism (it does not preach their gospel, nor make any arguments to advance their faith; it only portrays some of their traditions at times), then this is probably for you. The ending was satisfying. l Just watch out for Skittles raining on you.

[Blue Sky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought this was underwhelming. The wife commits paternity fraud, her husband finds out 10 years later, you'd think there'd be a good deal of drama here but there isn't, too tame.

I did get a laugh out of this line from the cheating wife... exasperated that her husband is angry with her 10 years of lying and paternity fraud. Good Catholic she is, she laments "God can forgive me, why can't my husband?"

And what of her husband Tom after he discovers he's not the bio father of his 10 year old daughter? One of the truisms of the mother-go-a-cheating novels is that the cheated-on husband can never have revenge sex, not even a one-nighter. Author Handford takes it to a ridiculous extreme here: 40 yr old Tom on a work trip befriends a pretty 25 yr old waitress, they end up at her place. She strips naked and climbs onto his lap. Will Tom cheat? Of course not even with a naked 25 yr old woman on his lap it's against the rules of this genre. The author has a chance to add some real world drama by Tom getting laid and bringing the clap home to cheating wifey. But no, that's another rule in these mother-go-a-cheating stories, no one ever gets an STD. Too messy, too unromantic.

Could have been a corker, but it's rather lame, can't recommend. HEA, husband shakes the other man's hand, everyone gets along. Gee what a surprise.

[John Kissinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outwardly, Mary Morrissey has her perfect life, a loving husband and four growing children. But she is the prisoner of two secrets which she fears could ruin everything for her. This novel of true and engaging characters teaches us that some addictions are about people rather than things, and that we even though we fear the truth, what really threatens us are the lies in which we imprison ourselves.

[Sue Lilley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled to relate to any of the characters. The children seemed the most real. Mary was very dithery and I couldn’t see why Landon had such a hold on her for so many years. Tom became a different person by the end but on the whole the book was a bit meandering for me. The premise wasn’t that complicated to take so long to resolve.

[Daphnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it but.....

The main character was annoying at many points in the book. She was judgmental of others yet she’s not innocent. Not to give anything away but the character is addicted to people, good and bad and it’s annoying. Despite this, I was absorbed in the book and enjoyed it.

[Kurt A. Viegelmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is riveting and intriguing.

I highly recommend this book. It is about a relationship between two friends. It is also about a couple who learned how to communicate with each other.

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the main character to be very frustrating. She basically kept making the same mistake over and over again even though she knew it would cause her problems-a lot of eye rolling as I read this book.

[Goldie Garnich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling

I was completely absorbed in the story.
Her reasons for the characters was interesting.
I would recommend to anyone who appreciates good writing

[Marie White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would love to see a part 2.

I think everyone can relate to a character in this book. Very well written. I'd love to read part 3, when Sally is grown.

[Sandravides · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great story about a woman's first love and her current marriage. The wife has a secret that she has not told her husband, and the story takes off from there .

[annmarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read!

[Anita]

Didn’t finish. Too tedious.

[Anita C Wynkoop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good

[kay ables · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling

Such a good read. My heart ached for Mary and especially Tom. This book should make us all look at the secrets we keep.

[Sandra Montgomery]

I have read this book yet will review it when I read it.