The Pieces We Keep
Kristina McMorris, 2013
Kensington Books
464 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780758281166
Summary
In this richly emotional novel, Kristina McMorris evokes the depth of a mother's bond with her child, and the power of personal histories to echo through generations...
Two years have done little to ease veterinarian Audra Hughes's grief over her husband's untimely death. Eager for a fresh start, Audra plans to leave Portland for a new job in Philadelphia. Her seven-year-old son, Jack, seems apprehensive about flying—but it's just the beginning of an anxiety that grows to consume him.
As Jack's fears continue to surface in recurring and violent nightmares, Audra hardly recognizes the introverted boy he has become. Desperate, she traces snippets of information unearthed in Jack's dreams, leading her to Sean Malloy, a struggling US Army veteran wounded in Afghanistan. Together they unravel a mystery dating back to World War II, and uncover old family secrets that still have the strength to wound—and perhaps, at last, to heal.
Intricate and beautifully written, The Pieces We Keep illuminates those moments when life asks us to reach beyond what we know and embrace what was once unthinkable. Deftly weaving together past and present, herein lies a story that is at once poignant and thought-provoking, and as unpredictable as the human heart. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1975
• Raised—Portland, Oregon, USA
• Education—B.S., Pepperdine University
• Currently—lives near Portland, Oregon
Kristina McMorris is a bestselling author and recipient of more than twenty national literary awards, as well as a nomination for the prestigious RITA® Award.
At age nine, she began creatively expressing herself when she embarked on a five-year stint as the host of an Emmy® and Ollie award-winning kids' television program. Being half Japanese, Kristina jokes that she discovered a genetic kinship with the camera early in life and continued to nurture that relationship by acting in many independent and major films while living in Los Angeles. Later, as the owner of a wedding/event planning company, she served as the six-year host of the WB's weekly program Weddings Portland Style.
Kristina's extensive experience in media and events led her to becoming a professional emcee and contributing writer for Portland Bride & Groom magazine. Her previous writing background also includes ten years of directing public relations for an international conglomerate.
Just a handful of years ago, deciding sleep was highly overrated, she compiled hundreds of her grandmother's favorite recipes for a holiday gift that quickly evolved into a self-published cookbook. With proceeds benefiting the Food Bank, Grandma Jean's Rainy Day Recipes sold at such stores as Borders and was featured in a variety of regional media. It was while gathering information for the book's biographical section when Kristina happened across the letters her grandfather mailed to his "sweetheart" during his wartime naval service - a collection that later inspired McMorris to pen her first novel, a WWII love story titled Letters from Home.
Praised by Woman's Day and hailed by Publishers Weekly as "a sweeping debut," Letters from Home was published in 2011 by Kensington Books and Avon/HarperCollins UK, followed in 2012 by her novel Bridge of Scarlet Leaves and novella "The Christmas Collector, which appeared in the anthology A Winter Wonderland. Kristina's latest novel, The Pieces We Keep, was released in December 2013 to wide and critical acclaim. Rights to her books have been sold to numerous foreign publishers, Readers Digest, Doubleday, the Literary Guild, and more. Her forthcoming novella, "The Reunion," will be featured in the anthology Grand Central (Berkley/Penguin, July 2014).
A frequent guest speaker and workshop presenter, McMorris holds a B.S. in International Marketing from Pepperdine University. For her diverse achievements, she has been named one of Portland's "Forty Under 40" by The Business Journal. She lives with her husband and two sons in the Pacific Northwest, where she is currently working on her next novel. (From .)
Book Reviews
An expertly woven and richly satisfying work of historical fiction that will touch any reader who has experienced love, loss, tragedy, or the impact of family secrets.
Boston Globe
Two narratives, one concerning Nazi spies and the other a troubled boy in contemporary Oregon, begin to converge at the halfway point in this novel of espionage, reincarnation and doomed romance. For the first 100 pages, there is little to connect the two stories, told in alternating chapters....[but] McMorris' strong pacing keeps the two stories zipping along and all its many strings connected for a gratifying conclusion.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. While reading The Pieces We Keep, did your interpretation of the title change over the course of the story? Discuss the symbolism of the cover image in the same regard.
2. What does “faith” mean to you? How did you come to arrive at that conclusion? Has a personal tragedy ever caused you to reexamine and/or alter your core beliefs?
3. When comparing the novel’s dual timelines, how do the past- and present-day stories parallel? How do they contrast?
4. Memories—cherished and burdensome, lost and recovered—are major elements of the book. Which memories in your life have played a distinct role in shaping your personality? If given a choice, would you erase any from your mind? How different might you be without them?
5. Of the various parental relationships in the book, which are the most interesting to you? Do you identify with any of them? How has your view of your own parents, or your relationship with them, developed over time?
6. Connections between the past and present were interpreted by characters in different ways throughout the story. Early on, what did you perceive as the source of Jack’s issues? Did that change by the book’s end?
7. Do you believe in the possibility of past lives? In your opinion, does such a theory complement or contradict contemporary religious and/or Christian principles? Did the story reaffirm your existing beliefs or expand your thoughts about what might or might not be possible?
8. Vivian’s view of love and marriage greatly change by the book’s conclusion. Upon reflection of your life, how has your perspective on these topics developed and why? How did Isaak and Gene both contribute to Vivian’s growth as a person?
9. Every major character in the book wrestles with grief in some form. Discuss the range of ways in which each person deals with this emotion. Have you or your loved ones ever reacted to loss in a similar manner?
10. At several points in the novel, Audra questions her skeptical and spiritual beliefs. What is your personal view of coincidence versus fate or predestination?
11. How do secrets, whether kept or revealed, affect characters in the story? Do you agree with the reasons they were withheld from others? If you have ever concealed a major truth from a loved one, do you now regret it or feel it was justified?
12. Army Private Ian Downing, whom Vivian encounters at the cafe, first appeared in Kristina McMorris’s debut novel, Letters from Home. If you were previously familiar with his character, how does his personality differ in The Pieces We Keep?
13. Audra spends a great deal of time doubting her parental abilities. The petition she reviews with Russ reflects and amplifies what could easily be deemed her shortcomings as a mother. How would you rate your own parenting skills, or that of your parents? What ruling might a stranger make based solely on documented incidents?
14. Who was your favorite character early in the book, and why? Did your opinion change as the story progressed? Who was your favorite character by the end?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)