Yesterday I featured a guest post by Ashley Mackler-Paternostro about the importance of having a great support system.

Now I’d like to give my thoughts on The Milestone Tapes.

The Milestone Tapes by Ashley Mackler-Paternostro

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jenna Chamberland has everything she wanted out of life. She is a successful author married to an attentive, architect husband. They are raising their young daughter, Mia, in their dream home in the perfect location. Then, Jenna is diagnosed with breast cancer. After a 3 year fight she is not winning, she decides to stop treatment for the cancer. Knowing she doesn’t have any time left to impart the life lessons she had hoped to teach her daughter, Jenna decides to record a series of tapes that she hopes will help get Mia through the difficult times in the future.

This book was so far out of my usual genre, but I am so happy I took the chance to read it. Through the first half where we learned about Jenna’s sickness and how it was affecting her family, I must have cried probably 3 or 4 times. I had to read the book in small increments at a time because the emotions were so intense. I am a mother of a small child, so the thought of not being there for him for the rest of his life really hit me hard.

The author had a lyrical writing style that really brought the characters, and especially the world they lived in, to life. She takes great care to describe the home and the town which is so integral to the story.

I liked all the characters, I just wish I would have come to learn a little more about Gabe, Jenna’s husband. He is shown only in the role of caretaker and father, but I wish I could have gotten into his head a little more after the loss of Jenna. This family was also so lucky to have such and endearing woman as Ginny to take care of them. She loved them unconditionally and was there for them through whatever they needed.

The message I got from this book was that life is fleeting and we should do our best to live it to the fullest. While reading this book, I hugged my son just a little bit tighter at night and found myself with a little more patience for his relentless 3 year old questioning habit.

The Milestone Tapes was a fantastic, heart wrenching read that showed a great insight into how life really goes on. I hope to read much more from Ashley Mackler-Paternostro in the future.

View all my reviews

PURCHASE THE MILESTONE TAPES