Garden of Hope

By Jo Piazza O'Mara

Description:

Most people would consider the Agosti family perfect-not only did they truly love each other, they also liked each other very much. Three generations of Agostis spent many hours around the dinner table discussing their auto repair business, reminiscing about past family vacations, teasing each other, and enjoying marvelous Italian food prepared by their beloved Mama. Vincent and Maria Agosti, their children Joey, Angie, and Trina, the spouses, and the grandchildren all live in a small New England town close enough to each other to enjoy frequent noisy, chaotic, and perfect family get-togethers. But everything changes when Joey discovers a shocking family secret while innocently searching through the Agosti & Son Garage business records, which compels him and his wife and children to distance themselves from Daddy, and by default, the rest of the family. A serious schism develops between father and son, and the rest of the family is saddened and bewildered by it. Perfection no longer exists for the Agostis. The abbreviated clan continues on, but in the final moments of a Christmas celebration once again without Joey and his family, Mama shares her fears about her own health, and an agonizing cancer journey begins for the Agostis. During the months of her ultimately unsuccessful cancer treatments, Mama lovingly cultivates a beautiful flower garden-her Garden of Hope. She perfects a system to strengthen weak roses by grafting them in to stronger rose bushes, which then makes a new, even more beautiful plant. As Mama's final days approach, the family secret begins to emerge, which deepens the shock, confusion, and grief that the family is suffering. Months later when Daddy is suddenly taken away from them by a heart attack, the siblings must come to terms with what had been hidden from them, the impact it had on their relationships with each other, and what their mother had taught them about forgiveness, healing, and grafting in.

Book Takeaway:

Hopefully each reader will close that final page, now confident that God cares about every part of their life and His gifts of hope and forgiveness are powerful and life-changing for those who will receive.

Why the author wrote this book:

While ministering alongside my husband for over 35 years, I witnessed many relationships in crisis. My heart grieved as I watched marriages and other relationships unravel. After I retirement from my secular job, I felt compelled by Holy Spirit to share a story of forgiveness, praying that it would bring hope and reconciliation to my readers.