Skip to main content

The Crying Tree by Naseem Rakha



Synopsis:  Irene Stanley thought her world had come to an end when her teenage son, Shep, is murdered. Daniel Robbin, who had spent his teenage years in and out of trouble, gave himself up to the police and was given the state's harshest sentence: death by lethal injection. Now, nineteen years later, as the state penitentiary prepares to execute Robbin, Irene Stanley must reveal what she has been hiding from her family. That in order to survive the anger and grief she had at loosing her so, she not only had forgiven the man who killed him, but had come to be his friend. Her revelation stuns her family and cracks open the secrets that had been surrounding her son's death. Secrets that reveal how little she understood Shep, her husband, or herself. Dramatic, emotional, and ultimately uplifting, The Crying Tree is an unforgettable story of love and redemption, the unbreakable bonds of family, and the transformative power of forgiveness.

My Thoughts: I read this book for book club and I have to say it was a wonderfully emotional and beautifully written story. The only reason I would give it four starts instead of five (out of five) was because it had a section in the middle that I found to be a bit boring compared to the rest of the book.  I think it could have been cut down to be a shorter book and would have been so much better for it.  That said, it was an emotionally powerful and thought provocting book and I loved it.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fight Club for Five Year Olds - Part 2

The other mother and I went into the school to meet with the teacher and the assistant head.  We both let them know how upset we were that we were not informed that our children were sent to the office and how much we were against the children being allowed to play fighting games on the playground.  I told them I wouldn't allow it at home and I'm really unhappy that it's being allowed at school.  They admitted it was a problem and explained that they are planning to introduce a a scheme to teach the children to play in a safe way.  They will be calling it 'Super Hero Training'.  They plan to give out capes & masks out to children who behave well as rewards at playtime.  They will have assemblies where they will teach the children to play fighting games without making contact.  I find this to be absurd.  The problem has gone on to long and I doubt they will be able to teach little children to change their games when they have sixty other childr...

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross

Did anyone see Friday Night with Johnathan Ross last night? (for those of you in the US - it's a British R-Rated, Jay Leno type show) He had on the actor Dominic Monaghan (who plays Charlie on Lost). While discussing the show, Dominic (who I really liked before last night) said the problem with the cast of Lost is that there are too many bloody Americans. To Which Jonathan Ross replied, 'Isn't that the problem with the world'? The audience roared with laughter and applauded (so did my husband as if he's not married to one of those bloody Americans and laying on the couch with her watching the damned show). It didn't stop there. they went on to talk about how much it annoys them that we destroy the language etc etc etc... It was yet again, another example that leads me to believe that this type of attitude is the general feeling that all people in this country seem to have. Wayne says I'm wrong, but I sometimes wonder if he too shares this opinion. ...

Feeling the rain

After I worked out today, I went into the kitchen for a bottle of water and saw the pouring rain out my patio door.  There are few times I can think of wanting to feel the rain more. Without a thought, I went out and stood in the rain.  English rain is cold, but today it felt incredible.  I live in a very public place, but in that kind of weather there was wasn't a soul in sight.  I thought about twirling, but the grown up in me squashed the notion. What I did do though was close my eyes and raise my chin toward the sky to let the rain fall on my face.  In my mind I slowed it all down and took it in.  I swear in those few moments I felt every drop. I've always loved the rain.  I  love the sound of it and like to open the windows and listen to it while drifting off to sleep on stormy nights.  Even as a child I would love to go out and play in. When I got older, I found it sensual and and dreamed of romantic moments that would play out u...