Watch Over Me

Title: WATCH OVER ME
Author: Christa Parrish
Publisher: Bethany House
October 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7642-0554-5
Genre: Inspirational/women’s fiction

Abbi and Benjamin Patil are just pretending. Pretending that they are still happily married, pretending that they have the same relationship that they had before Ben went to Afghanistan. Pretending that they still love each other. But Abbi would testify that she and Ben are going in two different directions. And that Ben rarely came home at night. And that their conversations were mostly arguments.

When Deputy Ben finds the newborn baby gift abandoned in the field, he is elevated to hero-status by the community for finding the baby, Abbi is the last to know. She finds out in the grocery store line and told by a gossipy clerk. Abbi is hurt that Ben never called to tell her, that he never comes home for two nights, and that the nameless baby is getting more attention than she is.

As Ben and the rest of the police force work to identify the mother, Ben and Abbi seem the most obvious couple to serve as foster parents. But the newborn’s arrival into their home opens old wounds for Abbi, plus shines a harsh light on exactly how much Ben has changed since his military tour.

With their marriage teetering on the brink, what will it take for the struggling couple to reclaim what they once had?

WATCH OVER ME is a powerfully written story that is too realistic for a comfortable read. The baby broke my heart—every time I hear of an abandoned baby, I want to cry—ad this story is just stock full of the pain. I hoped that Ben and Abbi would be able to work out their many differences and that a happy home would be provided for this baby girl.

A secondary story is also interweaved into the plot line, a story about a young deaf boy who is struggling to find his place in the world—a family that would watch over him...

WATCH OVER ME is a story that will grip you by the heartstrings and not let go. Poignant, tear-jerking, and unforgettable. $13.99. 349 pages.