Getting Past the Tears is a fictional novel that tells of how lives were affected by the war in Vietnam. It is set in Eastern North Carolina and Southern Virginia during the late 1960s and into the twenty-first century. It is the fifth and final book in the series. Getting Past the Tears continues the story where Gardenia Lane ends.

Kay Peel was happily married to her childhood sweetheart. Their lives were interrupted when her husband was drafted into the army and deployed to Vietnam. When the messengers arrived to notify Kay that her husband had been killed in action, she felt cheated out of the life they had planned. She leans on God, her friends, and her late husband's family to help her through her grief and broken heart. She decides to concentrate on her job as a registered nurse and close her heart to love to avoid having her heart broken again.

Quint Sterling is a handsome doctor who had served in Vietnam. When he returned home from Vietnam, he found that his wife had not waited for him. He was welcomed home with divorce papers. His heart and dreams were shattered. He swore off women for fear of being hurt again.

God has other plans for Kay and Quint. When the pretty young widow and the handsome doctor meet, there is an instant attraction between them. Even though Quint is fifteen years older than Kay, the couple bonds. It is as if their broken hearts reach out to each other. Neither of them is looking for love. They become close friends. Their friendship becomes the most important part of their lives.

This is a story of how love can mend broken hearts and restore broken dreams. Through God's love, the couple realizes that what's gone is gone. Their hearts heal by letting go of the past and moving forward in love. True love conquers all. They find that love is more joyful the second time around.