Metal artist Katie Mack is living a lie. Nine years ago she ran away from her family in Raleigh, North Carolina, consumed by the irrational fear that she would harm Maisie, her newborn daughter. Over time she’s come to grips with the mental illness that nearly destroyed her, and now funnels her pain into her art. Despite longing for Maisie, Katie honors an agreement with the husband she left behind—to change her name and never return.

But when she and Maisie accidentally reunite, Katie can’t ignore the familiarity of her child’s compulsive behavior. Worse, Maisie worries obsessively about bad things happening to her pregnant stepmom. Katie has the power to help, but can she reconnect with the family she abandoned?

To protect Maisie, Katie must face the fears that drove her from home, accept the possibility of love, and risk exposing her heart-wrenching secret.

Review

This was a tough book. More than likely, when you think of someone with OCD, you probably have an image of a neat freak or someone who has to have things a certain way. Usually, we see the visual aspect of it rather than understand the behavior. The Promise Between Us, really captured and gave the reader an inside look behind someone functioning with this debilitating, no discriminating disease that can have dire affects on someone's life.

I really enjoyed getting in Katie's head. This was a character that you really could dive into and understand. What I thought made the book so compelling was that we constantly see what she is thinking. It gives you a chance to experience along with her thoughts and understand how and why she behaves the way she does as a result of a situational trigger. You really get an inside view of what it is like living with someone who has this. In Katie's experience, post partum depression kicked in which ignited her symptoms. Much of her behavior stemmed from genetics but life scenarios triggered different behaviors that affected her quality of life. At the time, she didn't know what she was dealing with and found herself agreeing to leave her child. That was such a hard decision but through some circumstances and fate, their paths cross which give her a second chance at life which allowed her to not only help herself but her daughter.

I'm sure there so many people out there who have experienced this and thought they were going crazy but you're not. I applaud the author for developing a story around a subject that people have assumptions about that usually are negative. This really enlightened and showed the positive outcome that can happened given the strength of the person to persevere and find ways that work for you life to manage and function better. We see her face her past and present and find love despite all the inner battles fighting her to let her know she can have a happy life and nothing will happen bad.

Overall, I really enjoyed the journey and thought the story was one that was inspiring and really gives you a up, close and personal experience of someone who is experiencing this cognitive disease. A story of loss, reconnect and finding one's own true path really captivates and will soften your heart with compassion. I would add this one to your TBR!