Forgive and Remember


Secrets, lies and discoveries. . .three generations…love endures.

Asher George joined the Navy after his father arranged the marriage of the girl he loved to his cousin in Iraq. Angry and heartbroken, he had no intention of ever calling Bloomington Hills home again, but when a tragic car crash kills his brother and sister-in-law, he becomes a guardian of three grief-stricken children. He quickly discovers that child rearing is harder than it seems, and despite not wanting anything to do with Mariam, she quickly becomes his sounding board.

Mariam Shammas survived a strict Chaldean Catholic upbringing, a forced marriage, a sick husband, and the responsibility of raising a daughter virtually on her own. As her daughter Tamara’s college graduation approaches, she is finally free to create her own path. Yet, when tragedy brings home the only man she has ever loved, Mariam learns that their one indiscretion as teenagers has profound, pervasive consequences.

Tamara George has been in love with the boy next door for most of her life, but when they finally take the next step in their secret relationship, a twist of fate quickly exposes her fears of commitment. When Tamara’s genetics class assignment drops the veil on her family tree, her mother, Mariam, must disclose the intimate details of her past and hope it’s enough to salvage her relationships with the people she loves most in the world.

Nuha Shammas allowed the Chaldean culture and her husband of fifty-five years, Manni to control her family for the entirety of her marriage. When misfortune strikes so close to home, threatening to tear her family apart, she’s forced to face the broken dynamics of her marriage and heavy guilt of ruining her daughter, Mariam’s life.

As secrets are revealed and missteps uncovered, can these tattered souls find a way to trust in their hearts, and risk it all for love?