The Agreement

By: John Isaac Jones

Narrated by: Susan Marlowe

"Follow love and it will flee; flee love and it will follow thee." (Old Chinese proverb)

When Alma Dawson, a middle-aged, hard-working single mother, sets out to get the tuition money for her daughter's last year of college, she never dreamed her entire world would be turned upside down. A poignant, inspiring story, this novelette is a testimony to a devoted mother's love!

©2012 John I. Jones (P)2017 John I. Jones

Enjoyed listening to this book

I enjoyed listening to this book and I enjoyed listening to the narrator.
"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

The power of a mother's love

Alma is a single mom who has successfully provided for her daughter and herself up until her daughter's last year in college. Extra college expenses for her daughter mean that Alma needs to come up with more money. She exhausts every option she can think of with no luck, until an acquaintance at the bank makes an offer that she can't refuse. The college expenses are paid now, but her agreement with the banker changes her life in ways she never foresaw.

Narrator Susan Marlowe is the perfect fit for this book. She gives appropriate voices to characters and tells the story so beautifully that you have no choice but to be drawn into Alma's world. John Jones is a master storyteller, giving us a glimpse into Alma's mind as she works with determination to meet expenses and then as she decides to accept the suggestion from the banker and the changes that means in her life.

Something I appreciated following in the story was the time Alma spent canning. When she was struggling to get by, canning was an important part of her life. Once a better job came along we read that vegetables were left rotting on the counter, but she didn't care. People change and priorities change. One thing that didn't change in this book was the love Alma had for her daughter.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This review is my honest opinion.

Love Comes in Mysterious Ways

I enjoyed this short listen. It is about a struggling religious widow (Alma) who is trying to finishing pay for daughter’s education. She tried everything to get the money then has to resort to the unthinkable and this changes her life forever. It is about how far a mother will go for her child. I was given this audiobook by author and have voluntarily left this review. Also recommend his book Boone. Thank you!

What Would You Do? Thought-provoking…

Alma Dawson is a strapped for cash, a single mother trying to find a way to finance her daughters senior year of college.

She makes an agreement with a man – suddenly her way of thinking about things changes in almost every aspect of her life.

I didn't think that I would like THE AGREEMENT but I stuck with it and I am so glad that I did. It is a wonderful, short book full of thoughtful scenarios and evolving relationship rules.

Susan Marlowe's delivery was a bit slow, but after speeding it up it became perfect.

John Isaac Jones is an eclectic, talented writer. I do not know what genre to put him in because he writes short stories that really cannot be put into one category. I have enjoyed listening to ALL his work.

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Realistic, thought provoking.

This was a well written and realistic feeling story that left me with mixed feelings. ***Spoiler Alert*** While I'm not sure I could ever reconcile or get past someone taking advantage of my desperation get me to do something I am completely against, it does happen every day to many people. I think the fact that Bill acknowledges that it probably wasn't the best way to start a relationship with someone he claimed to love was good. And, I never got the impression that he was uncaring. I had issues with the daughter treating her mother as if because she was older no one would want her. Clearly that wasn't true. Bill wanted her, and no doubt others would too. I felt her daughter fed her mother's insecurities, wasn't very supportive, and expected way too much.

That said, this book is very relatable and makes you think. I'm surprised how much John Issac Jones fit into such a short period of time. There were things that I wish were maybe made clearer so we the reader wouldn't have to speculate and would know the characters a little better. But, overall it was a thought provoking read.

The narrator, Susan Marlowe, also did a great job. She's very easy to listen to and her characterizations and southern feel made listening enjoyable.