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Maybe, After To-morrow...
Eve Emily Hanson's story is set in the surrounds of beautiful Cape Town, in apartheid-era South Africa. She shares this journey with her reader.
Her family is Cape Coloured. Dysfunctional. She longs to grow up in a stable home with both her parents...take root. Just like her peers. Instead, her address and caregivers change like the seasons. Plucky Eve builds a 'love box' to store happier memories shared with her parents. When emotional neglect overwhelms her, this is where she finds comfort.
Eve falls in love with Michael J. Moore. Believing she has found a soulmate, one who will fill the void left by her father's continued absence, and that her nomadic lifestyle will finally come to an end, she marries him. For many years their marriage is all he promised it would be and they are blessed with twin sons.
Then, Mike takes to drink. Unbeknownst to him, a distraught Eve joins Al-Anon. Mike is livid when she tells all. He drives (one time too many) under the influence the next day. Crashes his vehicle. Dies.
With the help of her best friend Grace and Jonathan, an Al-Anon member, Helping Hands―a project to assist women in abusive relationships―comes into being. Fate has not dealt Eve its last blow. Mike (Eve's then fiancé) fathered a child while on a brief work assignment in Canada. News of his illegitimate sixteen-year-old daughter comes to light posthumously.
Ever the optimist, she steadfastly believes there must be life after death, disillusion, and despair!
Eve musters the courage to move forward.
Maybe, after to-morrow...
Her family is Cape Coloured. Dysfunctional. She longs to grow up in a stable home with both her parents...take root. Just like her peers. Instead, her address and caregivers change like the seasons. Plucky Eve builds a 'love box' to store happier memories shared with her parents. When emotional neglect overwhelms her, this is where she finds comfort.
Eve falls in love with Michael J. Moore. Believing she has found a soulmate, one who will fill the void left by her father's continued absence, and that her nomadic lifestyle will finally come to an end, she marries him. For many years their marriage is all he promised it would be and they are blessed with twin sons.
Then, Mike takes to drink. Unbeknownst to him, a distraught Eve joins Al-Anon. Mike is livid when she tells all. He drives (one time too many) under the influence the next day. Crashes his vehicle. Dies.
With the help of her best friend Grace and Jonathan, an Al-Anon member, Helping Hands―a project to assist women in abusive relationships―comes into being. Fate has not dealt Eve its last blow. Mike (Eve's then fiancé) fathered a child while on a brief work assignment in Canada. News of his illegitimate sixteen-year-old daughter comes to light posthumously.
Ever the optimist, she steadfastly believes there must be life after death, disillusion, and despair!
Eve musters the courage to move forward.
Maybe, after to-morrow...
312 pages, Paperback
Published September 9, 2022
1 person is currently reading
2 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 19, 2022
An epic story of perseverance, family struggle and courage. A very good read!
10/10 would recommend
10/10 would recommend
September 6, 2022
Maybe, after To-morrow... is emotional and heart wrenching at times.
Eve’s story is one that is based on so many truths that women in our society have gone through and are still dealing with today.
Eve’s story is one that is based on so many truths that women in our society have gone through and are still dealing with today.
August 31, 2022
A story of tribulation and perseverance... I could not put it down! Women from all walks of life will be able to relate to Eve's journey. Many people would've been broken by the childhood she had to endure, and would've given up after her traumatic marriage to an abusive alcoholic. Not Eve! The caliber of writing speaks to a deep understanding of what life must have been like for Eve. This is a book I'll definitely read again. Maybe, even, after to-morrow!
May 26, 2024
"Maybe, After To-morrow..." is an emotional and sometimes heart wrenching story about a woman from a very dysfunctional upbringing in Cape Town during the apartheid era in South Africa. Amidst changing addresses and caregivers during her childhood, she creates a ‘love box’ to keep her happier memories and finds comfort within when she’s feeling low.
Thinking she’s met her soulmate, she marries the man, they have twin sons and enjoy a happy life together…. until he starts drinking, bringing back all her pain from childhood. She is desperate to find support and comfort and joins Al-Anon. Sadly, this backfires when her husband finds out, enraging him and eventuating in his death in a car crash.
Our protagonist is amazingly resilient and steadfast and, although she’s confronted with even more challenges, she stays strong in her belief in life’s capacity for renewal beyond tragedy and even founds ‘Helping Hands’, a group that aids women in abusive relationships.
This story brought me to tears of heartbreak and also joy as I was filled with admiration for the strength she embodied in her determination to rise above all the challenges life threw at her.
Thinking she’s met her soulmate, she marries the man, they have twin sons and enjoy a happy life together…. until he starts drinking, bringing back all her pain from childhood. She is desperate to find support and comfort and joins Al-Anon. Sadly, this backfires when her husband finds out, enraging him and eventuating in his death in a car crash.
Our protagonist is amazingly resilient and steadfast and, although she’s confronted with even more challenges, she stays strong in her belief in life’s capacity for renewal beyond tragedy and even founds ‘Helping Hands’, a group that aids women in abusive relationships.
This story brought me to tears of heartbreak and also joy as I was filled with admiration for the strength she embodied in her determination to rise above all the challenges life threw at her.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews