To Have and to Hold: A Novel (Returning Home) - Softcover

Fern Michaels

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345373294 ISBN 13: 9780345373298

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 1995

Synopsis

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sisterhood series delivers a compelling story of one woman who harnesses tragedy and grows courageously—strong, independent, and free to love.

It is 1970 and Kate Starr is the perfect wife, the perfect mother, and the perfect housekeeper. But soon after her husband Patrick departs for a tour of duty in Vietnam, he is listed as MIA. Suddenly, Kate must raise their two daughters by herself, learn how to earn a living, and struggle with the U.S. government to get news of her husband.

Ultimately, the government's callousness turns Kate into an activist, determined to be heard. It is the beginning of a new Kate Starr. Twenty years later, she has educated herself and her daughters, started a successful business . . . and finally found love again, the fulfilling love of a passionate man. . . .

Beloved author Fern Michaels has won the hearts of readers worldwide with her sweeping novels of women coping with challenges of love. In To Have and To Hold, she traces the awakening of a remarkable woman who learns that sometimes in order to keep love in our hearts, we have to let it go.

About this title

About the Author

Fern Michaels was the New York Times bestselling author of the Texas quartet of sizzling contemporary novels Texas Rich, Texas Heat, Texas Fury, and Texas Sunrise, as well as the steamy books in the Captive series: Captive Embraces, Captive Innocence, Captive Passions, Captive Splendors, and Captive Secrets. She also wrote For All Their Lives, Serendipity, Seasons of Her Life, Desperate Measures, and To Have and to Hold. She passed away in 2025.

From the Back Cover

In 1970, Kate Starr is a woman of her generation, determined to be the perfect wife, the perfect mother, the perfect homemaker. Her husband, Patrick, is her whole world-even when he departs for a tour of duty in Vietnam. But when Patrick is listed as MIA, Kate is suddenly forced to make decisions alone for the first time in her life. It's an uphill struggle. Five years, ten years, fifteen years pass ... and Kate continues to transform herself. She raises her two daughters, puts herself through school, and starts a successful business. And finally she allows herself to even begin thinking about romance again.

From the Inside Flap

Bestselling author Fern Michaels has won the hearts of readers worldwide with her sweeping novels of women coping with the challenges of love. Now, in TO HAVE AND TO HOLD, she tells the compelling story of a woman very much of her generation, a woman who harnesses tragedy and grows courageously into the nineties--strong, independent, and free to love.
It is 1970 and Kate Starr is the perfect wife, the perfect mother, and the perfect housekeeper. But soon after her husband Patrick departs for a tour of duty in Vietnam, he is listed as MIA. Suddenly, Kate must raise their two daughters by herself, learn how to earn a living, and struggle with the U.S. government to get news of her husband.
It is ultimately the government's callousness that turns Kate into an activist, determined to be heard. It is the beginning of a new Kate Starr. Twenty years later, she has educated herself and her daughters, started a successful business...and finally found love again, the fulfilling love of a passionate woman....
Deeply felt and incredibly moving, TO HAVE AND TO HOLD traces the awakening of a remarkable woman who learns that sometimes in order to keep love in our hearts, we have to let it go.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0345373294
• ISBN 13: 9780345373298
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 352