Promise Me This

By Cathy Gohlke

Description:

Annie Allen never imagined the day she watched her brother sail on Titanic would be the last time she’d see him. Nor could she guess how the tragedy would forever knit her life with Michael Dunnagan, who only survived because of Owen’s sacrifice.
As Annie struggles to navigate a world turned upside down in England, Michael labors in New Jersey to create the gardening business Owen once dreamed of and to comfort and heal Annie’s grief through letters. In time, Annie begins to lay aside her anger that Michael lived when Owen did not and a tentative friendship takes root, blossoming into something neither expected.
Bound by a promise yet battling circumstances beyond their control, Michael and Annie dream of the day she can join him in America. Just when Michael saves enough money for her passage, WWI erupts in Europe. Then Annie’s letters mysteriously stop, forcing Michael to risk everything find the woman he’s grown to love before she’s lost forever.

Book Takeaway:

I hope readers see this story as a picture of Christ's love story to the world--His gift by grace that forever changed and made possible all that we are and hope to be. I hope readers not only desire to accept His gift, too, but to love one another with the same sacrificial love Christ demonstrated for us, the love demonstrated by characters in "Promise Me This."

Why the author wrote this book:

Titanic has long fascinated me--the ship, her builders, the romance of the era, but especially her passengers, crew, and the family members left behind. I saw in the story the potential for a picture of Christ's sacrifice for and gift of life to us, and our response to that unmerited gift.