Synopses & Reviews
“At once humorous and heart-rending . . . The evocative style of Luanne Rice meshes splendidly with Joseph Monninger’s in a moving collaboration [that] brilliantly illuminates the precious value of relationships.”—Wichita Falls Times Record News
“For those who love and those who hope to love again.”—Lincoln Journal Star
Sam and Hadley West are both trying to survive a shared, unthinkable loss. For Sam, a sports journalist, acceptance means an arduous trek by dogsled across the Alaskan wilderness. For Hadley, it means renting a benignly haunted, salt-soaked cottage off the Maine coast, where she begins to paint again. Waiting for their divorce to be finalized, they begin to exchange letters, filled with longing and truths they’ve never before voiced, as they recall their marriage—its magic moments and its challenges—and rediscover the reason they fell in love in the first place.
In this remarkable collaboration, acclaimed writers Luanne Rice and Joseph Monninger combine their unique talents to create, through a series of searching, intimate letters, a powerful novel of an estranged husband and wife—and the moment that changed the course of their lives forever.
“It’s hard for the reader to remember that she is reading fiction and not eavesdropping on personal correspondence. . . . A journey of discovery that celebrates the beauty of letter writing, an art fast disappearing.”—Booklist
“Exquisite . . . a story of hope, healing and possibilities.”—Concord Monitor
Synopsis
Is there any mystery greater than those we love the most? In this remarkable collaboration, New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice and Joseph Monninger combine their unique talents to create a powerfully moving novel of an estranged husband and wife through a series of searching, intimate letters. By way of a correspondence so achingly real youll forget its fiction, they trace the history of a love affair and of a family before, and after, the moment that changed the course of two peoples journey forever.
Sam and Hadley West are both trying in their own ways to survive after the unthinkable loss of their only son in Alaska. For Sam, a sports journalist, acceptance means an arduous trek by dogsled across the bleak and beautiful arctic wilderness to find the place where Paul died. For Hadley, it means renting a benignly haunted, salt-soaked cottage off the Maine coast where she begins to paint again.
Now, at opposite ends of the country, waiting for their divorce to be finalized, they begin to exchange letters by post, missives filled with longing and truths theyve never before voiced, as they recall their marriage—its magic moments and its challenges—and begin to rediscover the reasons they fell in love in the first place.
As Sam risks his life to reach the remote crash site, Hadley begins an equally hazardous inner journey to a rendezvous with the mad grief of a mothers heart. At the place where all else is lost, they will meet again….
From the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Luanne Rice is the author of
The Silver Boat, Secrets of Paris, The Deep Blue Sea for Beginners,
The Geometry of Sisters,
Last Kiss,
Light of the Moon,
What Matters Most,
The Edge of Winter,
Sandcastles,
Summer of Roses,
Summer’s Child,
Silver Bells,
Beach Girls, and many other
New York Times bestsellers. She lives in New York City and Southern California.
Joseph Monninger is the acclaimed author of several works of nonfiction and fiction for teens and adults, including The World as We Know It, and has been awarded two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships. A native of New Jersey and one-time Peace Corps volunteer, he is a college professor in New Hampshire where he lives in a converted barn with his wife, Wendy.