Böcker av Barbara Cutrera

Daniel Nash needs to receive mercy from his family, his friends, and from himself. He's spent most of his life suppressing memories and his rage regarding the severe abuse he suffered during his childhood. The situation for Daniel is critical: He's finally reached his breaking point. Daniel's wife, Sarah, does what she does best - whatever she can to help those she loves. Despite her own emotional struggles and visual impairment, Sarah is the woman who always manages to keep her family going. However, she finally decides that it's time to take care of herself as well. Tristan Maes, Sarah's biological father and Daniel's de facto one, draws upon all of his own tragic life experiences and his resolve to persevere in an effort to save his two eldest children. He works with his family and his son-in-law's therapist as he attempts to keep connecting with the rational part of Daniel's mind. Tristan holds onto hope but knows his grasp is tenuous. Mercy is what Daniel, Sarah, and Tristan need most. It's also what they provide for each other and what they receive from those closest to them. Although many things are beyond their control, their overwhelming love and devotion to one another are their strongest assets in the most difficult struggle of their lives.

Sean Proper, the youngest principal ever to head the renowned Kensington Academy, knows he's smart and driven to succeed, but he has no idea he's also living proof that miracles do happen. Unaware of the truth, he can't foresee how radically his life will be altered by his introduction to Prim Aurora, a businesswoman whose past is shrouded in mystery. Each having extremely different and unusual upbringings, neither Sean nor Prim ever intend to become seriously involved in any romantic relationship. Prim's inexplicable fears, Sean's need to be in control, and the appearance of a dead body in the Aurora family home will test the passion and love between them. As their relationship is jeopardized by past events and a killer still on the loose, their determination and commitment to their dream of a life spent together is threatened. Only elusive revelations regarding the secrets in Prim's past and the circumstances relating to the miracle surrounding Sean's birth can provide Prim and Proper with the promise of a happy future.

Daniel Nash struggles to reconcile his feelings of betrayal with his desire to understand his life. His hopes of uncovering the secrets revealed in his father's journals are quickly dashed, and he works with a private investigator in order to discover the truth. Worry about his wife, Sarah, combines with his efforts to cope with his childhood trauma, an unexpected death, and the recent revelations. His obsession with the past threatens to destroy his stable life. Meanwhile, Sarah and her father, Tristan, continue to combat the lingering discord that developed between them years before but refuse to take their main focus from Daniel. As he reviews his biological father's efforts to be a good man, Daniel searches for a way to comprehend shocking disclosures. He questions his own goodness as he fights not to emotionally withdraw from those around him, especially Sarah and Tristan, the two people he knows will always love him.

Readers begin their journey through this collection of three short stories by immersing themselves in the world of eighteen-year-old Cotton Landry. Her loving father makes his living as a gambler, but Cotton dreams of becoming a doctor. She fears she's destined for a career at Guidry's Handi-mart and Bait Shop unless she can permanently leave her rural Louisiana hometown. When all seems lost, Cotton is forced to face the truth and uncover the real meaning of love and devotion that will both break her heart and set her free. Trained from a young age to work as an assassin, Victor Jones believes in his duty to eliminate targets in order to protect the safety of others in the world. His life is forever altered when the one person he allows himself to truly love is killed because of his family's involvement in the Intelligence Community. As a result, Victor loses his focus and purpose. He finds direction in a most unlikely place and discovers that the person he loved and lost left him a much more rewarding legacy. Emma Jen had an unusual upbringing in her Mississippi town and envisioned an exciting future with a smart, handsome, romantic man. However, that future was not to be. Now middle-aged and a widow for many years, she is raising her granddaughter alone. Longing for the life she never had, she decides to discover if it's not too late to attain the dream that she sought as a girl. Emma Jen journeys toward fulfilling her potential and uncovers new possibilities without losing sight of her renewed hope.