Status
Available
Genres
Publication
William Morrow & Company (2006), 280 pages
Description
From New York Times bestselling author A. Manette Ansay comes an unforgettable story of two families united by tragedy -- and one woman's deeply emotional journey toward a choice she'd never thought possible. On an ordinary morning in Fox Harbor, Wisconsin, Meg and Rex Van Dorn's lives are irrevocably altered when a drunk driver -- Meg's onetime best friend, Cindy Ann Kreisler -- slams into the Van Dorns' car, killing their six-year-old son, Evan. As Meg recovers from her own injuries, she and Rex are shocked when Cindy Ann receives a mere slap on the wrist. In their rage and grief, they buy a boat to sail around the world, hoping to put as much distance as possible between themselves and Cindy Ann. But when Meg returns to Fox Harbor for a family wedding, she's forced to face the complex ties that bind her to the woman who has destroyed her peace.… (more)
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User reviews
LibraryThing member berylweidenbach
This book left me breathless. To understand the meaning of forgiveness, to find hope in the hopeless, to acknowledge that we are all essentially the same, to learn to let go of hate, this story is breathtaking! A moment in time that can't be changed. A "miracle child" who is born to a couple in
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their 40's is six when he is killed in a car accident caused by a drunken driver. That driver, Cindy Ann, turns out to be a high school friend, a mother of three girls who are all unharmed in the crash. The ties between the grief stricken mother, Meg, and Cindy Ann go back to a time when one confided to the other a terrible secret about her stepfather, who later shot himself. Unable to cope with this the knowledge in this confidence, Meg not only turned away, but implied that Cindy Ann might be to blame for what happened. Now, more than 20 years later, Meg tries to come to terms with the fact that her former friend has killed her son, as friend's children are unhurt. Meg and her husband Rex feel she should be made to pay in some way. They bring a civil suit, but before it is decided, they decide to leave the small Wisconsin town and all the terrible memories lingering there to live on a cruising sailboat. Meg understands that the suit has been dropped. Aboard the boat, and in ports where they land, they pretend to those they meet that they are childless. Still the pain and grief is relentless untill one night, at a girl's night out with women she has meet sailing, startling stories of horror and tragedy are reveiled. It is a turning point for Meg. She is driven to find answers for herself, and in doing so, risks everything she has left. One of the best books I have ever read, lilting prose, powerful sentences, astonishing tenderness!Read this book!
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LibraryThing member bobbieharv
Engrossing story of a woman whose 4 year old son is killed in a car accident by her drunk friend, and how the woman and her husband sail to the Caribbean to escape.
LibraryThing member bnbookgirl
Fantastic read. This would be a great book club choice as it would elicit a lot of conversation about forgiveness and grief.
LibraryThing member readingrat
This was a truly compelling and well-written book about loss, grief, and the ability to forgive. The only reason it fell short of 5 stars for me was that, given the subject matter (the loss of a child in a drunk driving accident), the story was oddly devoid of strong emotional moments.
LibraryThing member debnance
A woman and her husband, Meg and Rex, finally have a child after years of trying. When the little boy, Evan, is six, he is killed by a drunk driver, a woman who was once Meg's close friend. Very Oprah-ish, but a page turner, nevertheless.
LibraryThing member dablackwood
I was astounded by the beauty of this book. The story is simple. A couple's young son is killed in an automobile accident by a drunk driver - a woman who is a former friend of the dead child's mother. Cindy Ann escapes with no injury and none to her three daughters with her in the car. But Evan is
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killed and his parents have no other chldren. He was their miracle child, born when they were in their forties. So, the book starts out with tragedy. I wondered if I could finish it. Ansay is such a great writer that you are there in the middle of the pain and the anger. You know exactly why Meg and Rex decide to leave everything they know and take off an a boat to places south but no place in particular. They reinvent themselves as a couple with no children and no past. They live in the present and bask in beautiful weather and endure and survive difficult storms. But at some point Meg returns to Wisconsin and in the end finds the ability to come out of her despair and to forgive Cindy Ann and to start her life again. The beauty of the book lies in Ansay's ability to write such beautiful prose. She sometimes goes back and forth in time and place and since that is so often the way we think, it is perfect. I think her ear for dialogue is excellent. I'm actually afraid to read anything else by her for fear I'll be disappointed. So I think I'll read something else and come back to her in a while. Show Less
LibraryThing member bookwormteri
A good book, but not astonishing. A woman's personal journey of recovery after the loss of her son.
LibraryThing member lunadiem
Great book about loss and forgivness
LibraryThing member grigoro
I love A. Manette Ansay's books, and this is my favorite. It is a story of loss, grief, anger, hope and forgiveness. Meg and Rex's only child is killed by a drunk driver, a driver who is an old high school friend of Meg's. Although they've drifted apart, Cindy Ann and Meg were best friends the
Unable to deal with their grief & anger, Meg and Rex decide to leave their small town in Wisconsin and sail the ocean with no set destination. Along their travels they meet other travelers, trying to leave their own demons behind. But Rex and Meg find that physically leaving the place of the tragedy doesn't help to heal their broken lives, and when Meg returns to Wisconsin a year later, she and Cindy Ann come to terms with their mutual sorrows. A highly recommended book.
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summer of their sophomore year.Unable to deal with their grief & anger, Meg and Rex decide to leave their small town in Wisconsin and sail the ocean with no set destination. Along their travels they meet other travelers, trying to leave their own demons behind. But Rex and Meg find that physically leaving the place of the tragedy doesn't help to heal their broken lives, and when Meg returns to Wisconsin a year later, she and Cindy Ann come to terms with their mutual sorrows. A highly recommended book.
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LibraryThing member Bagpuss
Makes me glad we have the NHS in the UK!
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2006
ISBN
0688172873 / 9780688172879