The Sweet Gum Tree – by Katherine Allred

“I promise you this. I’ll love you until the day I die even if I have to live without you. And if it’s fifty years from now, you come home, Nick Anderson. Do you hear me? I’ll be waiting on you.” 

I found this book to be a really emotional read and let me tell you, I certainly did cry through this.

You will love these characters.  You will feel so invested in them especially as we follow them from childhood.  How could you not.  These are truly wonderful characters.

‘You can’t turn love on and off like a light switch, no matter how hard you try. All you can do is wall it off, one brick at a time, until you’ve created an impenetrable fortress around your emotions. And once that fortress is built, you camouflage it so well that even you can’t see it anymore.’

Yes, this is a love story, but it is so much more. It’s a beautiful story that spands time within the lives of Alix and Nick. It is a story that is so well written you will feel that you are on the journey through life with these two.

There will be times you will want to reach into the pages and y slap Alix for some of her decisions, but this will not detract from the love you feel for her and Nick.

The synopsis gives you a very good idea of what this book is about so I won’t go into any plot details so as not to ruin this journey for anyone else.

I absolutely loved part one where we meet Alix and Nick as children.  This relationship just warmed my heart.

“You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted, Alix, the only one I’ll ever want. That’s a promise.” 

What I will say is that this is a truly wonderful read and book I would highly recommend. Heed my warning though….have tissues handy, because you will need them.