Drawing on her experiences working in a New York nursing home early in her marriage, she crafted a fictional account of one family's struggle with Alzheimer's disease.
In 1999, the World Wide Pictures adapted the book into a screenplay that became a made-for-television movie and was aired in 200 major markets, with Raney and her husband attending the Hollywood premiere in June of that year.
Ten years after its first publication, A Vow to Cherish was reissued in trade and mass market formats by Steeple Hill books.
The plot relied on a bed-and-breakfast for its setting, and was conceived the previous autumn when Deborah retreated to write at such a B and B while on a tight deadline.
With her husband, Ken Raney, she reissued many of her early books through Raney Day Press, including Beneath a Southern Sky, After the Rains, A Scarlet Cord, Because of the Rain, Above All Things, A Nest of Sparrows, A Scarlet Cord, The Face of the Earth, Insight, Over the Waters, A Vow to Cherish, Within This Circle, among other works.