The Mother's Promise delves into the lives of a single mother,Alice and her teenage daughter, Zoe. As Alice's life is threatened with cancer she has to make decisions regarding custody for Zoe. Up until now the two have made a go of it on their own with no friends or family to speak of as a backup so they have to rely on the help of Alice's oncology nurse, Kate and her social worker, Sonja. Each of Sally Hepworth's characters are rich with humanity, flaws and challenges and I felt hopeful that each of these great women characters would survive their personal struggles. Reading about social anxiety, abuse, rape, alcoholism, Crohn's Disease, infertility and cancer provided insight on the real challenges each present and I took the emotional journeys with Alice as she loses ground with her health, Zoe as she learns tactics to fight anxiety and comes into her own as a teenager, Kate as she feels alone surrounded by family as she battles infertility and Sonja as she gains courage to stand up to her husband. The story is beautifully woven and I couldn't put it down as I read through my tears.