Rating: 3 stars

Reminiscent of the movie, Where the Heart Is, where a young, pregnant Natalie Portman is abandoned in a small-town Wal-Mart parking lot by the father of her child, A Song for My Mother is the story of Marly Hanson, who ran away with the small-town bad-boy at the age of 16, to escape an abusive father and a mother who refused to leave him.

Though Marly wasn’t in love with the boy, she appreciated the opportunity for escape. Two years later Marly became a single mother to her daughter, Katie. Through her own strength and determination, Marly made a life for her and her daughter, vowing never to return to Dreyersville.

After a battle with brain cancer, Katie’s only wish was to meet her grandmother Winnie, Marly’s mother. Marly’s return to her home town brings back an avalanche of bad memories and reopens old wounds. After the 12 year estrangement from her mother, Marly struggles to let go of the past.

With the help of the handsome Sheriff living next door, reflections of her own experiences as a mother and Winnie’s patient persistence, Marly soon realizes that mothers do the best they can. As she and Winnie work to repair their relationship, Marly finds herself falling for the Sheriff; and her return home may become more permanent than expected.

Though the writing seems a bit simple and the story verges on the edge of saccharin, A Song For My Mother is a sweet little, heart-felt tale of choices, forgiveness and family. An uplifting, quick read, Kat Martin has written a love letter to mothers everywhere.
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Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Vanguard Press; 1 edition (April 5, 2011)
ISBN-13: 978-1593156565