Come Back to Me

By: Melissa Foster

Narrated by: Carol Monda

Length: 9 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Tess Johnson has it all: her handsome photographer husband Beau, a thriving business, and a newly discovered pregnancy. When Beau accepts an overseas photography assignment, Tess decides to wait to reveal her secret - only she's never given the chance. Beau's helicopter crashes in the desert.

Tess struggles with the news of Beau's death and tries to put her life back together. Alone and dealing with a pregnancy that only reminds her of what she has lost, Tess is adrift in a world of failed plans and fallen expectations. When a new client appears offering more than just a new project, Tess must confront the circumstances of her life head on.

Meanwhile, two Iraqi women who are fleeing honor killings find Beau barely alive in the middle of the desert, his body ravaged by the crash. Suha, a doctor, and Samira, a widow and mother of three young children, nurse him back to health in a makeshift tent. Beau bonds with the women and children, and together, with the help of an underground organization, they continue their dangerous escape.

What happens next is a test of loyalties, strength, and love.

©2011 Melissa Foster (P)2021 Audible, Inc.

The emotion of the story pulls you in.

It has been a very long time since I cried while listening to a book. Sob is probably the more appropriate term. Good story and well developed characters. I didn’t want it to end.

Love & A long chain of misfortunate events

Tess and her husband Beau one of those couples that are madly in love and into each other. Beau accepts a photography assignment on Iraq, where he ends up in a helicopter crash.
His loved ones at home are told that he didn’t survive. His parents and friends try to process the news, work through their grief and find closure, while Tess refuses to believe his death.
Meanwhile, he finds himself in Suha’s care, who managed to save his life and nurses him back to health, the hope of seeing Tess again helping him cling to life.

Tess and Beau each eventually begin to discover buds of life again, peek behind the curtain of sorrow and grief.

Just as hope seems to build, a series of misfortunate events unfolds. And escalates. And then some.
It’s the reason I listened to the entire book in one day, unable to put it down, but it’s also what got a tiny bit tiresome towards the end, where I just wanted closure already, one way or another.

My main criticism of the writing was that it just got a bit too much misfortune, a little too muc drilling into the same themes - while reconciling others too hastily.
All in all it is very enjoyable though and I, through the wonderful narration by Carol Monda, could practically see myself in the same room as Beau, Suha, Samira and her kids, or Alice and Tess.

If you are *VERY* sensitive, it may be better to look elsewhere (content, language), otherwise give it a listen! :)

Heart wrenching yet I couldn't put it down

This story goes from beautiful to bad to worse and then circles back again. So very sad and made me cry on several occasions. I always say be kind to others as you never know what kind of hell they are trying to survive on the inside.