Amy Hatvany once again amazes me with her beautiful writing and her newest novel Safe With Me. It is such an emotional and heart wrenching book and I’ll admit to shedding more than one tear while listening to it. Which brings me to saying that I listened to the audio version and all I can say is wow! It is narrated by the amazing and one of my favorites Cassandra Campbell as well as Joy Osmanski who I also enjoy and Rebekah Ross who I haven’t listened to before but would again. These three women bring such raw emotion to this story that the reader can’t help but be drawn into it.
The novel is told through Hannah, Olivia, and Maddie. Hannah, a single mother, is devastated when her young daughter is hit by a car and killed. At the hospital she is faced with the hardest decision of her life when asked to donate her daughter’s organs. Ultimately she says yes as she feels that this is what her daughter would have wanted.
On the other end of the spectrum is Olivia whose daughter desperately needs a liver transplant. She is overjoyed when a liver becomes available and yet sad that another mother had to lose their child for hers to have life. On a chance meeting Hannah meets Maddie and her mom Olivia and without revealing who she is finds herself drawn into their lives. Olivia though has problems that her seemingly perfect life now that her daughter is well doesn’t reveal. Her husband is abusive and she feels it only fair to hang on in the marriage until Maddie leaves for college. At what cost though?
This novel was such an emotional read for me because I connected so deeply with Olivia and Cassandra Campbell added so much depth to Olivia’s character with the way she portrayed her. Safe With Me would be a fantastic book club pick with its wide array of discussion topics. You have organ donation, loss of a child, abusive marriages, and so much more. This story really makes you question what you would do if in the same situation and the lines aren’t always as clearly cut as one might think.
While there is sadness in this novel there is also happiness, hope, and new life. Amy Hatvany has become a favorite author of mine and Safe With Me comes very highly recommended – especially the audio version!
Buy at Simon & Schuster, Audible, and iTunes
Source: Review copy provided by the publisher. No compensation was received for this review and all opinions are my own.
Adding it to my audible wish list! Sounds really good.
I like dual POV novels. Cassandra Campbell is an awesome narrator.
I really like listening to books with multiple narrators, especially if one of them is Cassandra Campbell. Adding to my wish list!
This sounds wonderful!
This sounds like such a great book, Darlene. I love books that delve into such difficult topics and bring out my emotions. Adding this one to my wish list.