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Promise the Moon: A Novel
In the heart of every family
lie shattering secrets,
and a love that lasts forever...
When war and its aftermath take Josh from Natalie and her children, she must find a way to heal her broken family. And so Natalie begins writing letters from Josh that she hides for young Anna and Toby to find—notes from heaven that attempt to explain why he left, to offer comfort and wisdom. But when Anna suddenly reveals that her father has been speaking to her from heaven, divulging stories only Josh could know, Natalie must uncover the secrets of her husband’s past—secrets he hid to protect his family.
As Natalie’s search brings her closer to her own parents and reunites her with a love from long ago, she and her children will discover just how much of a hero Josh actually was—and that only by finally revealing the truths they’ve hidden from each other can they find peace, a fresh start, and the promise of a hopeful future….
lie shattering secrets,
and a love that lasts forever...
When war and its aftermath take Josh from Natalie and her children, she must find a way to heal her broken family. And so Natalie begins writing letters from Josh that she hides for young Anna and Toby to find—notes from heaven that attempt to explain why he left, to offer comfort and wisdom. But when Anna suddenly reveals that her father has been speaking to her from heaven, divulging stories only Josh could know, Natalie must uncover the secrets of her husband’s past—secrets he hid to protect his family.
As Natalie’s search brings her closer to her own parents and reunites her with a love from long ago, she and her children will discover just how much of a hero Josh actually was—and that only by finally revealing the truths they’ve hidden from each other can they find peace, a fresh start, and the promise of a hopeful future….
464 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 20, 2008
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172 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
May 23, 2008
Incredible book, so beautifully written. I adored Arnold's first novel, Pieces of My Sister's Life, and was so excited to see she'd written a second so soon after the first. The writing is just gorgeous, and the characters so realistic you'll want to comfort them. The storyline was also intriguing and topical, about a Marine family struggling to learn the secrets their husband/father left behind, which lead to his suicide, writing letters and giving gifts from him after his death in an attempt to heal each other. An amazing book that kept me up into the night.
May 19, 2009
Josh is now dead and his wife, Natalie, doesn't know what she will do. He left her behind with two young children, a daughter Anna, age ten, and a son, Toby, age five. Josh, a Marine, came back from his second tour in Iraq a changed man. Natalie keeps close the electronic Blackberry where he wrote down his daily schedules because of his lack of memory from post traumatic stress. She is afraid to see the last message he put in it on the day of his death. See, Josh did not die a hero fighting a war, but, instead, he couldn't live with himself and shot himself in the head in the garage. And now Natalie is left all alone to pick up the pieces, which she is not sure she can do.
Natalie and her children must leave the military base and move back home with her parents. Her mother is suffering from Alzheimer's, and her father is possibly carrying on a romance with an old friend of his. Since Natalie has nowhere else to go, she has to stay with her parents. Her father welcomes them and does his best under the current situation with his wife, daughter, and grandchildren.
Josh use to put special notes in a secret hiding place in the bathroom that only he, Toby, and Anna would know about. Josh explained that the notes and small gifts he would leave there while he was away showed his love for them. Even though Toby knows his dad is in heaven, he believes Josh still writes to him. Actually, Anna is the one writing the letters to her younger brother. Toby was the one to find his father in the garage and refuses to talk. Perhaps these letters will help him speak again. And Anna has secrets that she will not even tell her mother, from the letters she writes to Toby to the last note Josh left for Natalie to find, but instead, Anna found it and hides it in one of her stuffed animals as her last connection to her father.
Natalie tries her best to go on with her life and help her children. An old lover of Natalie's, Seth, comes to her aid. Anna can't stand Seth and lashes out, thinking Natalie wants him as their new father. Natalie is barely holding it together. Josh also kept secrets from her, including a picture she finds in his possessions of a young Arab girl. Who was she and why did Josh keep her picture? Natalie has more questions than answers, and unless she can confront the truth about Josh's illness and the concerns of her children, she may never forgive Josh for what he has done and find the strength in herself to go on without him.
PROMISE THE MOON is one of the most powerful books I have read in a very long time. Elizabeth Joy Arnold's tale of suicide, depression, and heartache brought me to tears. This is one book you will not want to miss out on and, afterward, you may find yourself a changed person. Natalie will stay with you long after you finish reading. Her strength and willpower to carry on under the most horrible of circumstances is amazing. The death of a husband is hard enough, but because of the way Josh ended his life, Natalie is full of remorse and grief. She feels that she has failed herself, Josh, and her two children, who may never get over their own grief.
Anna and Toby have very realistic emotions and actions as they try to deal with their father's death in their own ways. Anna is troubled, but so full of love for her brother and mother that she tries to do the right things, no matter how strange they may be. Her suffering will cut you like a knife. Toby is so young that the idea of death is very foreign to him. His sister Anna is the one most likely to help him heal.
Elizabeth Joy Arnold can write great family relationships including Anna's parents; her father especially is such a great influence and was a rock for Anna and Toby. Even Seth, Natalie's old boyfriend, becomes an important part of the story, and he is written in a very sympathetic way. He helps Natalie come to grips with her feelings about Josh, and Josh's army buddy, Nick, is also there to give Natalie the answers she so rightly deserves.
When a book brings out the tears like PROMISE THE MOON does, there are really no other words to explain how incredible a read this is. Elizabeth Joy Arnold deserves great praise
Natalie and her children must leave the military base and move back home with her parents. Her mother is suffering from Alzheimer's, and her father is possibly carrying on a romance with an old friend of his. Since Natalie has nowhere else to go, she has to stay with her parents. Her father welcomes them and does his best under the current situation with his wife, daughter, and grandchildren.
Josh use to put special notes in a secret hiding place in the bathroom that only he, Toby, and Anna would know about. Josh explained that the notes and small gifts he would leave there while he was away showed his love for them. Even though Toby knows his dad is in heaven, he believes Josh still writes to him. Actually, Anna is the one writing the letters to her younger brother. Toby was the one to find his father in the garage and refuses to talk. Perhaps these letters will help him speak again. And Anna has secrets that she will not even tell her mother, from the letters she writes to Toby to the last note Josh left for Natalie to find, but instead, Anna found it and hides it in one of her stuffed animals as her last connection to her father.
Natalie tries her best to go on with her life and help her children. An old lover of Natalie's, Seth, comes to her aid. Anna can't stand Seth and lashes out, thinking Natalie wants him as their new father. Natalie is barely holding it together. Josh also kept secrets from her, including a picture she finds in his possessions of a young Arab girl. Who was she and why did Josh keep her picture? Natalie has more questions than answers, and unless she can confront the truth about Josh's illness and the concerns of her children, she may never forgive Josh for what he has done and find the strength in herself to go on without him.
PROMISE THE MOON is one of the most powerful books I have read in a very long time. Elizabeth Joy Arnold's tale of suicide, depression, and heartache brought me to tears. This is one book you will not want to miss out on and, afterward, you may find yourself a changed person. Natalie will stay with you long after you finish reading. Her strength and willpower to carry on under the most horrible of circumstances is amazing. The death of a husband is hard enough, but because of the way Josh ended his life, Natalie is full of remorse and grief. She feels that she has failed herself, Josh, and her two children, who may never get over their own grief.
Anna and Toby have very realistic emotions and actions as they try to deal with their father's death in their own ways. Anna is troubled, but so full of love for her brother and mother that she tries to do the right things, no matter how strange they may be. Her suffering will cut you like a knife. Toby is so young that the idea of death is very foreign to him. His sister Anna is the one most likely to help him heal.
Elizabeth Joy Arnold can write great family relationships including Anna's parents; her father especially is such a great influence and was a rock for Anna and Toby. Even Seth, Natalie's old boyfriend, becomes an important part of the story, and he is written in a very sympathetic way. He helps Natalie come to grips with her feelings about Josh, and Josh's army buddy, Nick, is also there to give Natalie the answers she so rightly deserves.
When a book brings out the tears like PROMISE THE MOON does, there are really no other words to explain how incredible a read this is. Elizabeth Joy Arnold deserves great praise
August 28, 2008
I started reading this book because I really enjoyed Elizabeth's first novel, Pieces of My Sister's Life. Then I met Elizabeth at a book signing and she explained why she wrote this book. I got sucked into it more once I heard this explanation. She said we always hear stories about the war and about our soldiers, the ones who die and the ones who are heros. But we very rarely hear about the families of these soldiers. (so true!)
Promise The Moon is a story about the family of a soldier who was fighting in Iraq and got injured after an IED blew up near him. Josh's brain was damaged, his memory of that day and everyday afterwards was gone. Rather than have his family suffer not just with his condition, but in essence, also the loss of him, he decides to kill himself. The story is told in his wife, Natalie's voice and in his 10-year-old daughter, Anna's voice.
It is Anna's story that hits me the hardest. She blames herself for her daddy dying.
I really got into the story towards the end...once some things started being explained. I managed to hold off until the end before the tears started. This is a VERY GOOD story and I think Elizabeth did a fantastic job at portaying the family dynamics.
Kudos to you, my new friend!!
Promise The Moon is a story about the family of a soldier who was fighting in Iraq and got injured after an IED blew up near him. Josh's brain was damaged, his memory of that day and everyday afterwards was gone. Rather than have his family suffer not just with his condition, but in essence, also the loss of him, he decides to kill himself. The story is told in his wife, Natalie's voice and in his 10-year-old daughter, Anna's voice.
It is Anna's story that hits me the hardest. She blames herself for her daddy dying.
I really got into the story towards the end...once some things started being explained. I managed to hold off until the end before the tears started. This is a VERY GOOD story and I think Elizabeth did a fantastic job at portaying the family dynamics.
Kudos to you, my new friend!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2008
Very good storyline and character development. Definitely enjoyed the topic and plot - have not read any books that have addressed the emotional effects of war and the Marines on the soldiers and family. A wonderful journey into this story!!! At times I was frustrated with Anna's character...not sure her actions and choices were appropriately written for a child of that age. I also felt that the main character revisited the same thoughts throughout the book...felt like I was reading the same passages over and over. Definitely will read her first book as overall I like her writing style. I also appreciated Natalie's determination to find out the truth behind Anna's knowledge of Josh and not dismiss or believe into Anna's theories that the messages were from heaven. The book was realistic in that respect, but still getting the poignant messages across. Would have liked to see some resolution with Cam and his dad...or at least the knowledge that Anna will not be led astray in the future with her friendship with Cam.....I know, not a perfect world we live in!
December 10, 2008
The author does an amazing job of stepping into the mind of today's military family and the emotional trauma of this war. I could not put this book down... I wanted so much for these characters. I forget that it was just a book and I could not change the outcome.
July 11, 2011
Emotionally raw. The story is so real and not calculated like so much literature can be. I would have given it 5 stars but there was a lot of unnecessary vulgarity so that knocked it down a star for me. But I loved how beautifully it was written.
August 11, 2011
This was a book on the grocery store shelves that looked interesting to me one day when I needed to have something to read while on my lunch break. I was surprised it was as good as it was.
August 24, 2017
Extremely sad!
September 20, 2008
A Family Pieces Together a Soldier’s Story
A touching and sad story surrounding the tragedies of war and the impact that suicide has on a young family. Elizabeth Joy Arnold is a talented writer but this story could have been tighter. I think she stretches the story to include too much, perhaps showing the myriad of ways that grief affects every aspect of our lives, but I think that I would have enjoyed this story if had been just a little shorter.
We are introduced to our main characters shortly after a soldier’s suicide and in his wake he leaves a wife and two children not only grieving him, but left unsure of the importance that they played in his life. They feel betrayed that he chose to leave them and the mother, Natalie, wants to reassure her children so much that she pretends that their father is writing to them from heaven and leaves notes for them to find. At first it seemed like a great solution because their little boy, Toby, who was the one who found his father after he shot himself had completely stopped speaking to everyone but when she gives him “their fathers” letter, he begins to speak again but soon, it’s all too clear that she may have made a mistake because Toby feels that he can continue to communicate with him.
Elizabeth Joy Arnold adds mystery to the mix through Anna, their daughter who begins dropping hints that she knows more about the reasons behind her father’s death than she should and Arnold gives the reader clues slowly and we ultimately learn that some secrets are too huge to handle alone.
Anna seems to find fault in her own actions leading up to her father’s death and her world is turned upside down even further when their fractured family has to leave the base for “civilian” housing. Natalie then takes her wounded kids and moves back in with her parents, including her mother that is suffering advanced stages of Alzheimer’s. She can’t help but find links to the mental illness that obviously also plagued her husband and she finds his PDA with copious notes taken throughout his last weeks, but Natalie can’t seem to bring herself to check the entry he made on the final day of his life.
While out shopping with the kids, she runs into Seth, an old high school boyfriend who has recently gotten a divorce and he helps her sort out some of her feelings but at the same time, makes her life more complicated because he begins to stir feelings in her that she once only felt for her late husband.
The story culminates when someone from the soldier’s past comes forward and makes contact with a member of the family and starts feeding details that Natalie thinks only her husband would know. This triggers a series of events that help the family come to terms with his death and the reasons behind his suicide.
I enjoyed this story, it was well written and the characters were likeable and relatable and I like the way the author alternated the first-person perspective of Natalie and Anna. I could see this being made into a movie in and in these days where novels are heavily edited to create a more action filled film, I think the resulting tighter version of this story would be well received.
A touching and sad story surrounding the tragedies of war and the impact that suicide has on a young family. Elizabeth Joy Arnold is a talented writer but this story could have been tighter. I think she stretches the story to include too much, perhaps showing the myriad of ways that grief affects every aspect of our lives, but I think that I would have enjoyed this story if had been just a little shorter.
We are introduced to our main characters shortly after a soldier’s suicide and in his wake he leaves a wife and two children not only grieving him, but left unsure of the importance that they played in his life. They feel betrayed that he chose to leave them and the mother, Natalie, wants to reassure her children so much that she pretends that their father is writing to them from heaven and leaves notes for them to find. At first it seemed like a great solution because their little boy, Toby, who was the one who found his father after he shot himself had completely stopped speaking to everyone but when she gives him “their fathers” letter, he begins to speak again but soon, it’s all too clear that she may have made a mistake because Toby feels that he can continue to communicate with him.
Elizabeth Joy Arnold adds mystery to the mix through Anna, their daughter who begins dropping hints that she knows more about the reasons behind her father’s death than she should and Arnold gives the reader clues slowly and we ultimately learn that some secrets are too huge to handle alone.
Anna seems to find fault in her own actions leading up to her father’s death and her world is turned upside down even further when their fractured family has to leave the base for “civilian” housing. Natalie then takes her wounded kids and moves back in with her parents, including her mother that is suffering advanced stages of Alzheimer’s. She can’t help but find links to the mental illness that obviously also plagued her husband and she finds his PDA with copious notes taken throughout his last weeks, but Natalie can’t seem to bring herself to check the entry he made on the final day of his life.
While out shopping with the kids, she runs into Seth, an old high school boyfriend who has recently gotten a divorce and he helps her sort out some of her feelings but at the same time, makes her life more complicated because he begins to stir feelings in her that she once only felt for her late husband.
The story culminates when someone from the soldier’s past comes forward and makes contact with a member of the family and starts feeding details that Natalie thinks only her husband would know. This triggers a series of events that help the family come to terms with his death and the reasons behind his suicide.
I enjoyed this story, it was well written and the characters were likeable and relatable and I like the way the author alternated the first-person perspective of Natalie and Anna. I could see this being made into a movie in and in these days where novels are heavily edited to create a more action filled film, I think the resulting tighter version of this story would be well received.
September 28, 2009
This is a story about a mother and her two children who are putting their lives back together after their father/husband returns from Iraq and commits suicide.
You can't help but feel sorry for this broken family. Natalie, the mother, is writing letters from the father, Josh, to her children. Anna (11 y/o) knows this is not true and but then starts giving presents from her dad and telling her mother and brother she is talking to him. It all just spirals out of control.
I don't know WTF Natalie was thinking to begin with. I guess, just desperate.
But then three months after her husband's death she runs into an old bf and he is her crying shoulder and great to her kids and blah blah, that just pisses me off, I wish she could have just been a strong woman/mother but what ever.
and why didn't we ever get Toby's point of view?
I thought it was kind of hard to read, and aggravating most of the time.
You can't help but feel sorry for this broken family. Natalie, the mother, is writing letters from the father, Josh, to her children. Anna (11 y/o) knows this is not true and but then starts giving presents from her dad and telling her mother and brother she is talking to him. It all just spirals out of control.
I don't know WTF Natalie was thinking to begin with. I guess, just desperate.
But then three months after her husband's death she runs into an old bf and he is her crying shoulder and great to her kids and blah blah, that just pisses me off, I wish she could have just been a strong woman/mother but what ever.
and why didn't we ever get Toby's point of view?
I thought it was kind of hard to read, and aggravating most of the time.
August 19, 2013
Not sure where I got this book but it was in my 'to read' pile. 3.5 stars. It was actually a pretty good read that gave me some insight into the world of military wives (probably much more realistic than what you can see on TV's 'Army Wives.' Wonderfully written characters and enough a mystery to keep me wanting to figure things out.
April 20, 2008
A 500 page melodramatic wallow in grief that brings resolution and explanation to a tragedy that should have none. Very well written, but after a while you get tired of having her rip your heart out for no reason.
September 13, 2013
According to my Good Reads profile, I had this marked as already read. It might have been one of the ones where I never finished it. I'm giving it another try, but (and this is awful of me) the kids are driving me crazy.
September 2, 2008
Kind of slow moving.....hard to keep interested in it.
July 1, 2008
Very realistic characters and dialogue.
July 20, 2008
A soldier who was brain injured commits suicide. The story is about how his family copes. I hadn't seriously thought about this aspect of war. Scary!
September 17, 2008
Good book, sad story with uplifting ending. Author keeps you in a little suspense about a couple things throughout the book.
October 7, 2008
this book is about a family whose husband/dad dies. it tells of there hard journey to find a new life. but i think this book is more for girls rather than boys... at least when it comes to teenagers
October 31, 2008
3 1/2 stars for this one!
April 20, 2009
This was a good book, a little sad. I love how the author told the story from different perspectives. It was a bit predictable.
May 31, 2009
This book hit a little too close to home at times.
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July 21, 2009Great book about the strength of a woman as a mother and wife. I often need that inspiration!
December 11, 2010
Sort of depressing, but I liked it. Couple of bad words but overall really good. Makes you think about the trials a military family goes through. Makes you appreciate them all the more.
March 8, 2011
Being a military family I thought I might enjoy this book. No. It stunk. I don't know why I even gave it two stars!
April 24, 2011
This started out really good and I had high hopes for it but I lost interest about halfway through. I just finished it today and it was ok...but I didnt like the ending. Next!
August 8, 2011
Wonderful yet heartbreaking story.
July 9, 2012
Didn't love this one, but it was an easy quick read. Found more insight with the kids than the adults.
August 23, 2015
I found the storyline good..but found that it dragged on and on
March 16, 2016
Rather bleak.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews