Michelle Sutton’s review of As I Have Loved You by Nikki Arana

Contemporary Struggles……A Single Mom and College-Aged Son.

Leigh Scott is a widowed, single mother who wants the best for her son Jeff. She would like him to graduate from college, land a secure job, and start a family. However, Jeff, who was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) at a young age, has a God-given compassion for people. And his non-judgmental acceptance of all has unintended consequences.Jeff starts dating Jessica, a girl with a questionable past and seemingly non-existent future. Soon, Jeff’s grades drop as quickly as his sober determination to achieve the goals he’s worked toward all his life, and Leigh finds herself caught in a relational tornado. To complicate matters further, Leigh is an author with a looming book deadline, a father battling cancer, and her former boyfriend and first love, a strong Christian Native American, coming back in her life.

My review:

As I Have Loved You is the perfect title for this book. Not only was it a page-turner, but there were some powerful illustrations within it’s pages. This “love” story touched a deep place in my heart that few novels reach. Plus, it made me cry. Not a miserable-type cry, but a what-a-touching-message cry. I connected so well with the characters that I literally hurt when they hurt. I sensed the same deep regret, the kind where you wish you could go back and do something over again, but you can’t.

I found the subplot with Jeff, Leigh’s son, particularly compelling, especially the conflict regarding intimacy with his girlfriend and the values he was raised on. Also, the lessons Leigh learned about unconditional love through her son’s experience were priceless. Very well done. It was like God held a mirror in front of Leigh’s face and insisted she take a good, hard look. So true!

As I Have Loved You was published by Revell and released June 1, 2007.