Book Review: The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery

Since following Sara Brunsvold on Facebook, I've been gleaning book recommendations. Amanda Cox is an author Sara (or one of her followers) recommended, so I sought The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery. This was a Book of the Year in the 2022 Christy awards. In it, Cox explores mother-daughter relationships, loss, the power of secrets, and the important freedom found in the truth. My treadmill time slipped away, absorbed into the life and environs of this small town Tennessee grocery store.

Recently widowed, Sarah Ashby seeks refuge in her hometown and wants nothing more than to work alongside her mother and grandmother in the Old Depot Grocery Store. Sadly, her mother, Rosemary, is determined to sell the store. She doesn't want her daughter following in her footsteps. Conflicts between grandmother, daughter, and granddaughter bring to light the secrets of the past and the long-falling ripples cast by those secrets. Can they redeem the brokenness of the past? Are they doomed to bear the burden of guilt and isolation that secrets bring?

I will happily look into further books by Amanda Cox. The characters came to life from off the page and felt like friends. The secrets unburdened brought a release and redemption that I love in stories. This is a well-told tale of second chances, love, and loss. It reveals God's redemptive purpose in our pain, and boy, do I need that message these days!