The Courage Tree

By: Diane Chamberlain

Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee

Eight-year-old Sophie Donohue just wanted to be like every other little girl. Which is why her mother, Janine, reluctantly agreed to let her go on the weekend camping trip with her Brownie troop. But when Janine arrives to pick up Sophie after the trip, her daughter is not with the others. Somehow, along the forested route from West Virginia, Sophie has disappeared.

Sophie is no ordinary eight-year-old. She suffers from a rare disease, and Janine has recently enrolled her in an experimental treatment as a last effort to save her life - despite the vehement objections of her ex-husband, Joe. Without her medication, Sophie cannot survive long. All her mother's instincts tell Janine that Sophie is alive, but time is running out.

©2001 Diane Chamberlain (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Well-drawn characters and an unexpected and riveting plot make this a memorable thriller in the tradition of Joy Fielding and Mary Higgins Clark." ( Booklist)

Enjoyable

Not quite edge of your seat material but suspenseful at times. There were a few interesting twists but most were predictable. At one point I thought the story was headed in a different direction and was a little disappointed when that wasn't the case - it would have rated 5 stars if the camp councillor had played a bigger part in the disappearance! Overall, quite similar to a Danielle Steele without the time gaps - the whole story plays out within a month.

Amazing

Great book!! And a wonderful ending! I loved it all! From start to finish 10/10 recommend this book

Hated the Narrator!

I don't understand why some narrators feel the need to speak incredibly slowly and overly enunciate every word in a breathless melodramatic tone, but that is what this narrator did and I will not order another book read by her . To give her some credit, she did the characters well but her straight narration was really annoying to me. I have loved all of Diane Chamberlain's other novels so slogged my way through this listen, but I found this story to be less enjoyable than the others and am wondering if a different narrator would have made a difference. It probably would have!

Great read

This book kept you on the edge of your seat. It was a great listen highly recommend. A great ending in the last chapter.

great story

loved this story along with all the others I have listened to by the author.

A must listen. Suspenseful and hard to stop liste

I couldn't stop listening to this story. great characters. Strong women and mothers. One of my favorites from this author.

Annoying narrator

I liked the story well enough but the narrator sounded like she was reading to a group of preschoolers. This was especially difficult to listen to when she read a couple of sexual encounters. It was super creepy, and just sounded wrong! I think I would have liked this book much better with someone else reading it.

Coldn't put it down!

Another of my favorites by Diane Chamberlain! This book captivated me from the very beginning and I had a hard time putting it down long enough to go to sleep at night! I loved all the characters in this story, and thought the narrator did a fantastic job telling me this story! I highly recommend this book!

Brilliant!!

Oh wow! Diane Chamberlain at her best.
The story of a mother's love and what she will do to save her child.
Loved the story! Loved the characters! Loved the narration!

Wonderful book

Stick with this book. There are frustrating people that you want to lash out at & a main character you support with all your heart. There is a mystery man that has an interesting story when it finally comes out.
I don't think I've heard a bad Diane Chamberlain book yet!!! I'm off to decide on my next one!