Rating: 4 Stars
This book took me by surprise. It had been on my TBR list for over a year. I just kept putting it off for other books. Now that I am finished with it, I truly wish I had read it earlier. It is a look at mental health and the lasting effects it has on those surrounded by it. There is much heart ache, drama, loss and love in this book and the author handled it with elegance and grace. It is a story that will touch you and keep you contemplating for a long time after the last page is read.
The book follows two NYC officers, Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope, whom settle next door to each other in the same small commuter community outside of the city and they both raise their families there. Kate, who is one of Francis’s daughter, and Peter, who is the only child of Brian, grow up together and are fast friends. They do everything together. Then tragedy strikes and the two are separated for many years.
Some years later neither of them has totally forgotten the other. It seems that they are both castaways adrift in the world and without realizing, they both are waiting for the other. They reconnect when, on what appears to be a whim, Peter writes a letter to Kate. What was once a fast friendship quickly develops into much more. While they think they have put the past behind them, it is only festering under the surface and they both will have to come to terms with their shared past.
The book started out slow, but the story did build to the epicenter of the tragic event (no spoilers here) that would change the lives of both families forever. While I struggled to reach this point, once there, I could not read fast enough.
There is not much in the way of a plot. Instead, it is all about the characters and understanding how events shape and guide our lives. It is a contemplative book. It draws you in and has you agonizing over things that seem obvious to the reader yet the character(s) refuse to recognize to the detriment of all.
They say to be able to move on you have to accept the past and forgive. While words are easy to say, it is never easy to do and both families struggled with this. Some members more successfully than others. This made for a roller-coaster of emotions. The author presented the major and minor characters in all their faulted human glory. While the tragedy permeates most of the story, subtly most times, you do get a feeling that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. I liked that the author gives you hope so that the reader is not drowning in despair. It would have been too difficult for me to read if that had been the case.
This was a wonderful story and I highly recommend it to readers who love a story with drama while still remaining hopeful. In addition, it would make a good choice for a book club because there are many layers to this story and it would make for a lively discussion.
I received a free copy a t BookExpo 2019 in exchange for my honest review.