Amanda Hamm was born in Ohio and now lives in North Carolina with her husband and children. Writing has been a life long dream for Amanda and has written several books including Dear Jane Letters and Zero Station: A Science Fiction Novella.


“Tightening the Knot” begins with Meredith Donnor sitting in an attorney’s office contemplating filing for divorce. At some point she realizes that she doesn’t want to be there and walks out before getting very far with the process. Meredith has been married to Greg for six years, but at some point over the last year they stopped really talking to each other due to a sensitive subject, fertility and her inability to get pregnant. As the months go by, the communication decreases and Meredith is frustrated because Greg is not interpreting her hints at restarting communication. Then Greg signs them up for a Tightening the Knot marriage seminar through church, could this be the help they need to get back on track and rekindle their marriage?


This is not a very long book at all, but it does a good job of reflecting how many relationships sour and what causes the decline and what could turn the relationship around. Meredith’s “hints” and Greg’s inability to read between the lines is typical of many male-female relationships. Too many women don’t say what they think or want or need and men just can’t figure it out without the direct approach.


As I was reading the book, I was reminded of the movie “Fireproof” in small ways. When Greg started doing nice things for Meredith I immediately thought of the principals of that movie. However, the book changed direction and I was glad that it would be different.


When Greg and Meredith decide to attend the marriage seminar, I wondered if it would help their relationship. The description of the exercises they did together did seem strange but they were good principals that every married couple should remember in their day to day relationship with their spouse. As it turns out, the seminar has a positive effect on Greg and Meredith and was what their relationship needed to turn it around.


Along with Greg and Meredith’s story line is Meredith’s friendship with Jenna. There is also Tom and Ellie – Meredith’s brother and future sister-in-law. Greg’s mother, Judy, also arrives for a visit and creates some tension. These are all minor story lines but play an intricate part to the story as a whole and add sufficient background to give the reader a larger picture of why Greg and Meredith are in this situation.