About the Book

Book: Moments We Forget

Author: Beth Vogt

Genre: Contemporary fiction, woman’s fiction

Release Date: May 7, 2019 Moments We Forget cover

Jillian Thatcher has spent most of her life playing the family peacemaker, caught in the middle between her driven, talented older sister and her younger, spotlight-stealing twin sisters. Then on the night of her engagement party, a cancer diagnosis threatens to once again steal her chance to shine. Now, Jillian’s on the road to recovery after finally finishing chemo and radiation, but residual effects of the treatment keep her from reclaiming her life as she’d hoped. And just when her dreams might be falling into place, a life-altering revelation from her husband sends her reeling again. Will Jillian ever achieve her own dreams, or will she always be “just Jillian,” the less-than Thatcher sister? Can she count on her sisters as she tries to step into a stronger place, or are they stuck in their childhood roles forever?

Click here to purchase your copy.

Guest Review from Mindy Houng

“And me? I would always be the designated driver of the emotional vehicle that carried our merry little trio.”

Brace yourself for an emotional impact when you pick up this book. This book, written in first person perspective from middle sister Jillian and third person from oldest sister Johanna and youngest sister Payton, will burrow deep into your heart with its raw, real, and heart-rendering discovery of self, love, sisterhood, and faith as the sisters battle the hard things of life like cancer survival, insecurity of never being seen and never being enough, past family tragedies, betrayal, and loss of hopes and dreams. I didn’t read the first book (Things I Never Told You) and I do feel that I missed some background history of Payton and her deceased twin sister Pepper but the author did an excellent job of weaving the past and Payton’s story from book one into this storyline. I don’t have sisters but felt the sisterly dynamic and the struggle of sisterhood all the way down to my bones due to the author’s gift with words. Beth Vogt paints a beautifully broken world full of hurting people striving for hope in the Thatcher sisters and those looking for a stirring and insightful contemporary women’s fiction will love this book.

Jillian, the forever peacemaker in the family, is at the bottom of the pit, even after surviving breast cancer. As her life spirals out of control, her oldest sister Johanna, who has had her life in a neat and tidy square box all her life, faces personal challenges and work changes that send her life spinning. Payton, the youngest, is still trying to come to grips with her newfound faith and her budding feelings for Zach as her overloaded school and work schedule threaten to topple her. The three sisters are very different but compliment each other so well when they’re actually in agreement. Payton and Jillian’s walk toward faith is natural and encouraging.

I can’t wait to read the third book, which will likely feature Johanna as the first person narrator. She’s the least likable of the three sisters but I’m sure that she’ll have the biggest change of heart and spirit that will draw the sisters in a tighter bond than just genetics alone.

I received a copy of the book from Tyndale House Publishers via Celebrate Lit Tours and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.

About the Author

Beth-Vogt Beth K. Vogt is a nonfiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Now Beth believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” A women’s fiction novelist, Beth’s first novel for Tyndale House Publishers, Things I Never Told You, released May 2018.

Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA® finalist. Her 2014 novel, Somebody Like You, was one of Publishers Weekly‘s Best Books of 2014. A November Bride was part of the Year of Wedding series by Zondervan. Having authored nine contemporary romance novels or novellas, Beth believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us.

An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Novel Rocket and also enjoys speaking to writers’ groups and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband, Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people, and their youngest daughter, Christa, who loves to play volleyball and enjoys writing her own stories. Connect with Beth at bethvogt.com.

More from Beth

“A sister is like yourself in a different movie, a movie that stars you in a different life.”

Deborah Tannen (1945-), sociologist

I’m launching Moments We Forget, book two in the Thatcher Sisters series, and I’ve just turned in the final book in the series. I’d love to share book three’s title with you, but I don’t know what it is. (Of course, book three might have a final title by the time you read this—that’s part of the fun of prerelease deadlines.)

One thing I do know: the theme of “Little Women gone wrong” is woven through all of the books . . . thanks to the Thatcher sisters: Payton, Pepper, Jillian, and Johanna.

Sisters, be they real or imaginary, can be complicated.

Of course, there are sisters who have close relationships. They “get” each other and love doing life together.

But then there are the sister relationships that are like mismatched socks. Or those expensive jeans you loved in the store, but when you bring them home, they never quite live up to those moments in the dressing room.

Such are the Thatcher sisters. Johanna, Jillian, Payton, and Pepper grew up in the same family. They’re all tall. They love Broncos football and board games. But in so many ways their lives are like different movies because they each made different choices. Choices that changed and separated them. Moments We Forget continues to explore whether the Thatcher sisters can find a way to understand each other enough to bridge the distance between them.