The Stars We Could Reach (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798998564208)

The Stars We Could Reach takes the reader on a journey that plumbs the depths of love and loss, and soars to the heights of the heart's resilience. Author Carolyn S. Hochard insightfully traverses the messy and beautiful terrain of what we keep and what we abandon to create the space for love.

Susan has dreamed of motherhood. She is delighted when she meets and marries a wonderful man who promises they will start a family of their own. Soon after their wedding her husband presents Susan with an unexpected ultimatum. Blindsided, she is devastated beyond all hope. In a complete loss of self and the future she had longed for, Susan attempts suicide. She must conquer her mental anguish and learn to live with a broken heart that keeps on beating.

Hillary is more than a little surprised when she becomes pregnant after spending a night with a co-worker while on an away-project. She too, believes she has found the right man when the baby's father invites her to move in with him during her pregnancy. Hillary's new life is far from what she had anticipated as her boyfriend's volatile behavior is revealed behind closed doors. The relationship is strained to the point of breaking when their baby is stillborn, and Hillary is left to cope with an earth-shattering grief.

The two women find healing through their connection to horses. As their friendship unfolds, Susan offers Hillary the support of a kind and open heart as Hillary reassembles the shattered pieces of her life. And Hillary offers Susan a gift she had given up hope of ever finding. Their plans are short lived however, when the fate of their friendship is threatened by a terminal cancer diagnosis.

The Stars We Could Reach describes the big and small moments that make up a life and a friendship. This deeply personal and unflinching life story will inspire and resonate with readers as they follow the characters through hope and heartache, and ultimately come to recognize the gifts they've been given in what they have lost.