The Memoir of Johnny Devine

By Camille Eide

Description:

Love can’t rewrite the pages of one’s past, but it can cover a multitude of sins one page at a time.

In 1953, desperation forces young war widow Eliza Saunderson to take a job writing the memoir of ex-Hollywood heartthrob Johnny Devine. Rumor has it Johnny can seduce anything in a skirt quicker than he can hail a cab. But now the notorious womanizer claims he’s been born again. Eliza soon finds herself falling for the humble, grace-filled man John has become—a man who shows no sign of returning her feelings. No sign, that is, until she discovers something John never meant for her to see.

When Eliza’s articles on minority oppression land her on McCarthy’s Communist hit list, John and Eliza become entangled in an investigation that threatens both his book and her future. To clear her name, Eliza must solve a family mystery. Plus, she needs to convince John that real love—not the Hollywood illusion—can forgive a sordid past. Just when the hope of love becomes reality, a troubling discovery confirms Eliza’s worst fears. Like the happy façade many Americans cling to, had it all been empty lies? Is there a love she can truly believe in?

Book Takeaway:

No one is beyond God's loving reach. Maybe people can't forgive our mistakes, but God forgives and forgets, and if we let him, he can breathe new life into us.

Awards:

Why the author wrote this book:

The idea came to me in a dream. A handsome man with a cane watched a woman walk out the door and I sensed his heart was breaking but he chose not to stop her. I had to explore the storyline. What I found was the touching, romantic story of two people who could be you or I, whose need for acceptance, hope, and redemption are as real our own.