A doctor who has it all. A marriage in jeopardy. One false step could cost her everything.
Haunted by a professional embarrassment from her past, Dr. Makayla Jackson pursues success at work with a single-minded focus. From the outside, she has it all: a successful Boston medical practice, a loving husband, and a sweet daughter who packs a punch in her Little Dragon martial arts class. Makayla juggles many roles—healer, mother, breadwinner, wife—and her marriage is starting to feel the strain. Unexpected changes at work upset the delicate balance, and everything comes crashing down.
Jason Jackson is a proud full-time father and homemaker, and his career as a sought-after fine artist feels like a lifetime ago. His dreams of showing his paintings in the best galleries in the world seem to be permanently on hold, as he waits for Makayla to make good on her promise to cut back at work. He loves his wife, but when he can no longer live with the broken promises and creeping sense of disappointment in himself, he does the unthinkable.
From a #1 Amazon bestselling author, Till Medicine Do Us Part is a story of fighting for what matters, holding onto the things you love, and turning the beautiful, jagged pieces of your soul into something new and whole.
With friends only appearing late in the story, the majority of the secondary and background characters consist of coworkers and patients, the latter of which receive a disproportionate amount of Makayla’s on-screen attention and empathy. Not everyone will sympathize with the level of her ambitions or the missteps she makes along the way, including some very poor financial decisions. Though Jason’s career and history receive much less focus, readers will adore him for his patient and understanding nature and applaud the changes that save their family without Makayla having to give up her career.
The narrative benefits from a steady pace and consistent voice, and Jones skillfully draws on her own experiences as a physician to highlight the rewards and challenges of the profession. Makayla’s indecision and unwillingness to let go of the image she’d created for her future, despite her workaholism’s effect on her family, are as frustrating as they are understandable. Working mothers will relate to this story of an overworked, overwhelmed woman trying to meet the demands of personal ambition, breadwinning, and quality time with her family.
Takeaway: Many women will relate to this story of a Black female doctor juggling her responsibilities to herself, her job, and her family while contending with bias at work and unhappiness at home.
Great for fans of Rebekah Weatherspoon’s Rafe, Jasmine Guillory’s The Wedding Date.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: -
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A