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Retelling the story of her relationship and marriage with the love of her life, the author of this story recalls and presents an autobiography packed with fond memories and plenty of hardship. After a childhood with an alcoholic father and stretches of intense poverty, Carol eventually meets the man she will marry while working at a Kroger’s in Indiana. Shortly after tying the knot, Paul, her husband, is drafted to serve in Vietnam. For more than a year, the couple had to be separated due to war, but their love and faith kept them together, even as more hard times awaited them upon Paul’s return. Through creating a family, success at work, the looming possibility of potential divorce, and both health and family issues, Paul and Carol’s love passed all tests up until Paul’s passing in 2016.
Pulling double duty as both a memoir and a monument to her marriage, the author does a wonderful job of including small details and massive moments in equal amounts, providing a narrative that is easy to read but also fascinating and complete. Each chapter begins with an appropriate quote—sometimes biblical, sometimes literary—that fits the topic of focus. The end of the book is also full of photographs of the couple at various phases of life, giving the reader something visual to supplement the incredible but true story that the rest of the book offers. Though the details of the story are sometimes difficult and heart-rending, this memoir can offer hope to those feeling tested or struggling, encouraging them to believe that they just need to be true to their love and their faith to be presented with a way forward.