"A family drama refined to perfection..."

Thirty-two year old freelance writer Jessie Sienna just doesn't get it. He has the best relationship he's had in his whole life with Marina and he is too busy waiting for it to end. He doesn't have a clue how convincing his aging Father to move in with him will change his life for the better. He wants connection and a bonding he's yearned for all his life with his father. Little does he know that that wish will make him re-evaluate how he views life and love.

Mickey Sienna, an eighty-three year old widower moves into his youngest son's home, after a fire in his own home sends his other children looking for retirement home brochures for him.

It is a rocky start but soon they find an equilibrium they can both live with. Mickey however is baffled by his son's attitudes towards Marina. Jesse is blind to what treasure he has in her and his father decides to tell his son a tale he hasn't shared with anyone. Mickey reminisces about the true love he had many years before he met Jessie's mother. He tells Jesse this in hopes he will open his eyes before it is too late.

Ronald Anthony writes like a dream. Not many writers can pull off writing in both first and third person, but Mr. Anthony has mastered it beautifully. I felt I was reading about my own life as I turned the pages. This book touched my soul. The wisdom of Ronald Anthony's words made me re-evaluate my views of my own relationship with my father and struck a chord deep in my heart I though long dead.

Mr. Anthony is imperious in his characterization and pacing. A family drama refined to perfection. I could not wait to finish. This is a book I definitely will revisit over and over again when my heart aches for intimacy, tenderness and warmth. I can't wait for Crossing The Bridge, Ronald's next best-seller.

Reviewed By Janice Wagner

Reviewed by Janice Wagner
Posted June 6, 2003

Summary

Do you believe that love can last forever? Jesse Sienna doesn't. His own parents' marriage was caring, but passionless, and his own romantic history tells him that love burns brightest before fizzling out completely. So when his elderly father, Mickey, moves in with him and seems unable to understand Jesse's no-strings-attached relationship with his current girlfriend, Jesse barely pays attention. It's just another example of how different they are-and more evidence that he and his father will never connect on any meaningful level.But the truth is, Mickey Sienna knows more about love than most people learn in a lifetime. More than half a century ago, he found the truest love that life can offer. He knows the endless rewards of investing your heart and soul in someone . . . and he knows the devastating costs of letting that perfect someone slip by.When Mickey sees Jesse taking an extraordinary woman for granted, he decides it's time to tell Jesse his story-a story he's never shared with any of his children before. Over the course of the next few months, Mickey explains his most private and fulfilling moments to his youngest son . . . and forever changes Jesse's perception of love and the possibilities of a lasting relationship.At once a stirring family drama and a touching romance, The Forever Year is filled with richly drawn characters and powerful situations. You will respond personally to the people you meet in this novel, and you will find yourself deeply enmeshed in their stories. And you might find yourself looking at love in a new way.