In Just One Moment

by Duane Boehm

First, we mourn our lost loved ones and then we mourn the loss of our loved ones.

In a tragic Christmas day car accident, Noah Saxon loses his wife and daughter, thirteen-year-old Samantha Bragg loses her best friend, and Willie Bragg begins to lose his daughter and his best friend as anger and guilt begin to take over their lives. Also complicating the situation is a gravely injured Golden Retriever puppy that was a Christmas gift from Noah to his daughter that due to circumstance, Samantha inherits. The three find themselves ill equipped to handle the seismic change that has come into their lives. Samantha's and Noah's lives spiral out of control and the two have continual confrontations, testing Willie's loyalties as he vainly tries to save each of them from themselves and each other until it all comes to a head the following Christmas.

In Just One Moment examines the chaos that an accident brings to the lives of ordinary people and ultimately seeks to answer whether a man that loses everything including hope can find redemption and if an anger-filled girl can learn forgiveness.

226 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 21, 2013

About the author

Duane Boehm grew up on a farm outside of Petersburg, Illinois. All the time spent driving a tractor gave him plenty of opportunity to let his imagination run wild and not tear up too much equipment. The two passions he developed early in life were the love of playing guitar and reading books.

He eventually moved to a mini-farm outside of Murfreesboro, Tennessee with his wife and replaced planting corn with trees and raising dogs. For a number of years he worked as an IT consultant and continued with being a part-time musician and songwriter. He dabbled in writing short stories with the idea in the back of his mind that someday he would write a novel. One Christmas after watching "A Christmas Carol", he was inspired to begin his journey as a novelist.

Reviews

[Alwilda Jaquish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a gripping story of the pain and chaos of man who blamed himself for the deaths of his wife and daughter. The pain, sorrow and emotional devastation affected all aspects of his life as his downward spiral continues. His daughter's best friend, Samantha, blames Noah and embraces her anger against her best friend's father. Samantha accuses him of murder and takes every opportunity to strike out at him. She continues a downward spiral at school and at home. Her father, Willie, has been best friends with Noah and attempts to help him and his daughter. Their pain and dysfunction affects him as well. Willie is a veterinarian Who works with his daughter to save the life of her best friend's golden retriever. Their pain and suffering for all concerned. A year after the fatal accident, Noah saves Samantha from drowning and their lives are restored.
It is a story that is painful and sad as one reads the tragic story of a families attempt to survive a great tragedy. It is gripping to read and one should have a tissue handy. Duane Boehm has written a beautiful story of the impact of great tragedy on the lives of real people. Highly recommend.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking story

This is a very well written story about how life can get you so low that you don't know if you will ever recover. Please take the time to read this book. Would highly recommend this book to everyone.

[Larry Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tissues Please

This story of loss will keep you reaching for the tissues. Noah loses his wife and daughter in just one moment. How he and his daughter's best friend overcome their loss makes for a eye opening tale.

[Martha Pritts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last chance

We never know what today has in store for us. Always live each day as it may be your last.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is only one word to describe this book, sad. Noah, his wife and their daughter have the perfect life. Their daughter Erin has a BFF, Samantha. Erin gets the one present she wants on Christmas, a dog. Later in the day, a terrible accident occurs, and Noah must learn to live without his two girls. Samantha must learn to live without her BFF Erin. The dog remains as a symbol of what is, was, and what will be. These two deaths send seismic shocks through everyone involved, especially Noah and Samantha. None of their lives will ever be the same. This is the story of how everyone especially Noah and Samantha cope with the loss of Erin and her mother. The story is quite well done, but it is particularly emotional and very sad. I found myself engrossed in the sadness, wondering how everyone would ever survive. I enjoyed reading the book, but I found the emotion contained in it a bit over the top. There were times I had to stop myself from reading, just to take a break and let the story sink in. I had to stop reading but at the same time I could not wait to get back to the book to find out what was happening. I do not think there has been a book that has left me so sad and emotionally gripped in a long time, but I am not sure how others would find it. The book is well written. The characters are well developed. The plot moves along nicely. However, it is not a book I walked away from happy that I had read it because the intensity put me somewhere I preferred not to be. Based on how intense an experience this story was for me, I am not sure I can really figure out who would enjoy reading it. I received this from Library Thing to read and review.

[Marcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an emotional read for me. As Noah tries to come to terms with the loss of his beloved wife and daughter, he blames himself for their death. His daughter's friend Samantha is also struggling to make sense of the sudden loss of Nate's daughter, who was her best friend. The book vividly describes how they both flounder, both in grief and self-pity. I alternated between wanting them to realize that life goes on, and wondering if they would be one of the lost souls who stay bitter over a senseless loss for the rest of their lives. I think the story would have been more believable (for me) if there had been some ups and downs in both of their journeys, instead of one final event that pulled both Noah and Samantha back from their depression. However, I gave the book a good rating because it captivated my interest from the start.

[Linda Richards · Rating 1 out of 5]

I asked for this book for free in exchange for a review. I should have taken it off my request list because I don't like really sad books!! I kept reading by not getting too involved in the characters. If you like "tragic lives" stories then try this one. It is well written, if a bit over done after the accident, and would sit on the shelf in a book shop with other similar type of books. I read to 41% in one evening and was engrossed enough to keep reading, but I am not bothered enough about the characters to find out what happens to them. Sam will probably turn out well but I'm not sure about Noah. His pain is real and realistically written but I don't care enough about him to be interested. I liked Sam and was sad that her emotions were invalidated and nobody thought to understand where she was coming from in her reaction to Noah after the accident.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very emotional book and almost had me in tears a couple of times. The pain Noah went through after loosing his beloved family was so real. I was up all night reading this one and it was worth loosing sleep over. Samantha had me so mad at her for all the additional pain, guilt and hatred she threw at Noah whenever she saw him. All the lies she told her parents to get her way after loosing her best friend was something else.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for a review. It was an ok read, but slow at times. The author doesn't use contractions, which was slightly annoying. Overall I'd say the story was ok, but I never really felt attached to the characters. I could've put the book down at any point and never cared that I didn't know what happened to any of them.

[Stacy okun · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me in tears for 70 pages. Noah lost his family in a car accident on Christmas, and he blames himself terribly. The loss and heart wrenching sadness in the book is incredible . There is loss, love, healing,& forgiveness in this story.
The end I loved, because they finally get to start the healing process together.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read. A good example of how guilt, grief and survivor's guilt can affect your life.