Deborah Bedford Remember Me

Remember Me

Deborah Bedford

Warner, Nov 2005, $12.99

ISBN: 0446690430

In the 1960s as a boy Sam Tibbits looked forward to spending his summers with Aubrey McCarts at Piddock Beach, Oregon. During the rest of the year the youngsters diligently exchanged letters. That is until the time he, as a college student, came calling to see her, only to be met by silence as she and her family moved without a forwarding address. They even sold their boats in nearby Portland leaving no trace behind. Sam is heartbroken.

Sam has become a dedicated minister fully devoted to his congregation, but especially is there for widowed sister Brenda and his nephew. He never married as he still thinks of his Aubrey as the one. Mentally exhausted from the demands on his time and mind, he needs to get away for awhile. Though there are bittersweet memories, he returns to Piddock beach for the first time since his shattering college visit. Aubrey is there. Sam wonders if this is a miracle or a cosmic joke as she has someone with her.

This is much more than a second chance to perhaps rekindle the flame of youth as the story line is a deep character study that focuses closely on memories vs. realties when the recollections are somewhat challenged. The cast makes the tale though Sam is the focus as the prime players are flawed people and even the young die and cancer is a reality. A fantastic inspirational, readers will treasure this keeper as Deborah Bedford rises above the morality noise to provide a powerful tale of life and death leading to hope that readers will remember long after they close the book.

Harriet Klausner