I mean, the dedication speaks for itself...🙌🏼👏🏻

‘To the moms. The ones who struggle and the ones who don’t. To the ones who nursed for years and the ones who gave bottles on day one. To the moms who birthed at home in bathtubs and the ones who screamed for the epidural from a hospital bed. To the gentle moms, the tired moms, the stressed-AF moms, and the happy moms. To the ones who feed seaweed snacks and the ones who feed fruit snacks. To the ones who have lost, wept, and somehow kept going. Through carlines, through grocery store aisles, and through endless loads of laundry. To the moms of angels and rainbows. To my mom, my mother-in-law, and the women who have mothered me in between. Most importantly, to the moms who love, in whatever color of the rainbow, to forever and back.‘

Get comfortable. This book will pin you down and keep you down until the last page.

Easiest 5-star read this year. I’d give it 10 if I could.
Do not miss it.

Huge thanks to the wildly talented Ashley Manley, my flocking favorite & also to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub date: 4.1.2025.

To say I love this book would be devaluing the complexity and vulnerability that Ashley Manley has crafted into her storytelling. Forever and Back focuses on June Cannon’s life as a wife and mother and the daily struggles she experiences every day. June has been married for seventeen years to her high school sweetheart, Camp, and is raising their three kids, a seventeen-year-old daughter and their four-year-old twin boys. June becomes exasperated when Camp misses dinner again, which eventually leads to her asking him for a divorce. However, when Camp begins to actively be part of the family again, June discovers there’s more to Camp and herself than she realizes.

June is every mother out there. She is fierce, loving, dependable, and devoted. But she is also vulnerable, lost, exhausted, and jaded. June is the epitome of strength, resilience, and reliability. She represents the quiet burdens and sufferings most mothers struggle with. This book is more than just motherhood and the perils of an uncertain marriage. It’s about the sacrifices made in relationships and the reclamation of who you are as a person as well as the rediscovery of passion, life, and love.

Forever and Back is poignant, heartfelt, and exquisitely written. Ashley Manley wrote a tender novel dedicated to all the mothers out there who may have lost a piece of themselves by internalizing all their obligations from their silent battles. I am genuinely in awe of this delicately crafted and magnificent book. This one definitely stayed with me even long after I had finished reading it, and I don’t doubt I’ll keep coming back to it whenever I need it the most. With that being said, I am beyond excited for Scotty’s book, along with the anticipation for all of Manley's future novels.

Thank you to Victory Editing and NetGalley for allowing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This review will be posted 2/10/25 on GoodReads.

Still Absolutely Amazing!! 🥹😍 (Updating my review after rereading)

The depth of thought and emotion Ashley pours into her writing is truly remarkable. I loved this book when I first read it, but after reading it again, I have to say—it's hands down my favorite book I’ve ever read.

It reaches deep into your soul, making you see and feel every scene, every word, every emotion. The way she weaves all the small details together is pure brilliance. Ashley you are an exceptional writer!!!!

And that 🚿 shower scene… Wow 💦🤌🏻🙌🏻
I need some of that in my life 🫦😆

*Camp is my newest #1 book husband 🥰 🔥

June is such a relatable character, I just love her so much and want to be besties with her and Scotty.

I’ll forever be reading anything you write!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 🫶🏼

Add to cart!!!!

Ugh Ashley Manley has done it again! When I saw she had another novel out I immediately knew I had to read it! Thank you so much to Ashley and netgalley for the chance to read this book early! Oh June… what an amazing character. I loved the growth in the book and self discovery. This book made me feel all the feels in the best way. The characters and family banter were so relatable and I loved that. I will forever be an Ashley fan. Never stop writing 🩷

The easiest 5⭐️ review I’ve ever given. I felt June’s journey through motherhood and marriage on such a deep level—I’m not sure I’ve ever related to a book more. This story had me literally laughing and crying along the way. Thank you, Ashley Manley, for this much-needed story that made me feel truly seen.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC e-read in exchange for my honest review.

Ashley has a gift for writing real women with real struggles that readers can relate to. I appreciated this book so much because every wife/mother has felt this way at some point. Lost and frustrated and stuck. I love June so much! I pictured Rachel McAdams as June and now I can totally see it as a movie in my mind. But who plays Camp? Chris Evans do we dare????