Opinioned Tannia Ortiz

Until Lily is the first installment of the Lily Trilogy, penned by professional journalist and fiction author Sherry Boas.

Apostates Beverly and Jack Greeley enjoy their childless, healthy, and wealthy life. Bev's sister, Jennifer Eagan, is a devout Catholic, hard-working, single mom with three kids; Jimmy and Terry, who were adopted, and Lily, born out of wedlock with Down Syndrome. After Jen loses her battle to cancer, her children go to live with Uncle Jack and Aunt Bev, their court appointed legal guardians. Jack, however, finds the new and burdensome responsibility of caring for the children to be unbearable and abandons the family. Nevertheless, as the story unfolds, Bev's attitude toward Lily changes completely as she discovers that caring for her “daughter” was the most rewarding experience of her life!

Although at first I thought to write only one review highlighting the best of the trilogy, I decided to focus on each book's uniqueness based on the situations and thematic surrounding Lily.

While reading the trilogy, I was amazed at the author's competence to narrate Lily's story from three completely different points of view without losing each character's individuality and emphasizing pivoting events related to their interaction with Lily.

Until Lily tells Lily's story from Aunt Bev's point of view, from unfit and resentful aunt to appreciative and thankful „mother.“ Suffering from advanced Parkinson, she reflects upon her life before Lily and how different her senior years could have been if it wasn't for Lily's humanitarian personality. The reader will witness Lily's transformation from a small, strong-willed child to a grown, loving and compassionate woman caring for her mother.

I highly recommend this book to parents dealing with the challenges of raising children with Down Syndrome and to those considering ending a pregnancy as they question their ability to take on such a huge responsibility. The first installment creates awareness about Down Syndrome and shows the blessing of caring for these children.

Warning: You will need several boxes of tissues to carry you through the entire trilogy!