Promise Me

It was a lovely Sabbath weekend. Bill and I took the entire weekend off and headed to Manheim to visit my mom. We spent a lovely time playing Pinochle and Bananagrams, visiting with friends and relatives and simply relaxing.

We spent Friday night with our friends, Scott and Dawn, at a place called Chancey's in East Petersburg, Pennsylvania, where we talked and laughed. A lot. I treasure that friendship more than words could ever convey.

On Saturday, we sat in my mom's house watching the snow accumulate. It was lovely. My mom's cousin, Kelly, who I always refer to as my cousin since she's only a year and a half older than me, came over and we ate dinner and sat around and talked. On Sunday, Bill, Mom, Kelly and I went out to lunch after church and Kelly gave me a new Sandra Boynton book, which thrilled me! I love Sandra Boynton and can't wait to read it to the grandkids!

Promise Me

After a couple more games of Pinochle, we headed home. Even the 480-mile round trip was relaxing and enjoyable. Why? Well, for one thing, because I was with my very best friend in the world, my husband, and for another, we spent the time listening to the audio book, Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans. I cannot tell you how much I love this book.

I first listened to it a couple of weeks ago and was blown away by the story. While Evans might not be the creative wordsmith Chris Cleave or Jodi Picoult is, he is quite the storyteller. And Promise Me is quite the story.

As we listened to the book, Bill kept pausing it to ask me questions or to give me his guess on who the character of Matthew really was. I just kept saying, "You're never going to guess this. Quit trying." I was right; he never guessed, and was as blown away as I was when the truth was revealed. What a story. I cannot recommend this book enough. Seriously. The unexpected twists keep you reading/listening.

In the case of the audio book, it is not just Evans' writing that keeps you spellbound, it's also the exquisite narration by native Pittsburgher, Michele Pawk. Oh my goodness. This is one of the best, if not the best, narrations I've ever had the privilege to listen to. Pawk is a Tony Award winner (for her performance in Hollywood Arms) and is simply a delight to listen to. A sheer delight.

And here's an interesting bit of trivia to connect the weekend events together, Michele Pawk shares a birthday with Dawn, the friend I was out with on Friday night. Not important, but cool, since Dawn is one of my very favorite people in the whole world, and Pawk is now one of my very favorite narrators. And she doesn't come by the title lightly.

For those of you who don't know what I do, when I'm not writing or focused on being Green Grandma ... I am a voice over talent. I narrate audio books, also. When I find a narrator who impresses me this much, it means something. So, I hope you won't take this recommendation lightly. Michele Pawk is someone worth listening to. Paired with a book like Promise Me, this is a 10 all the way around.

My Sabbath weekend was, as well.

Sharing it with you,

Hana

By the way, if you click on the link for Promise Me, ignore the YouTube trailer at the bottom of the page -- it is one of the worst I've ever seen. Bad male voice over and the images do not fit the book. Obviously, the producer did not read it.