Turning Point
Susan Lynn Pelletier, 2015
Xlibris
188 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781503586727
Summary
A return to Seagull’s Perch is the last thing Angelique intended to do, but the request from her great-great-grandmother to be there to celebrate her 105th birthday could not be ignored.
Arriving home with her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Angelique is faced with her mother, whom she hasn’t spoken to in three years. Also entering back into her life is her ex-fiance seeking forgiveness and hoping to become a part of her and her daughter’s life.
Angelique seeks to reconcile the past so she can move forward with her future. Her great-great-grandmother is aware that time for her is running out. The family all gather to listen to Varvara telling her story—a colorful history of events spanning more than ten decades—beginning with her birth in Russia, to her life on an estate in France, and finally to the present, living on the shores of Rhode Island.
Turning Point is an intimate look into one woman’s life—a compelling tale of love, loss, joy and sorrow. Through her faith and courage, Angelique overcomes many obstacles, and in the end this strong, courageous woman’s love binds five generations of family together.
Author Bio
• Birth—December 22, 1953
• Where—Oxford, Massachusetts, USA
• Education—Quinsigamond Community College
• Currently—lives in Oxford, Massachusetts
Susan Lynn Pelletier was born in Oxford, Massachusetts to Leslie C. and Irene Haynes. The fifth of seven children, she grew up with five sisters and one brother. Her family took pride in being American and of Armenian descent. There was also a strong emphasis on family togetherness. Family suppers were eaten together and Sundays were set aside as family days. After church you were expected to be in the family room playing games, making puzzles, or watching the Red Sox on TV. Once, her parents took all seven children to see the Sox play at Fenway. Ms. Pelletier is still an avid Sox and Patriot fan. Family trips to Cape Cod each summer began her love of the ocean.Church, the ocean, horses, singing, writing, and reading are among Ms.Pelletier favorite things. She has been singing in church choirs since second grade and has been a member of her present church choir for over 35 years. While attending Quinsigamond Community College, she was a member of their first traveling concert choir which toured the Bavarian Alps.
In her childhood years Ms. Pelletier joined the Girl Scouts. She loved being a scout and earned its highest award, the God and Community Award. She also spent one summer as a camp counselor. As a teenager, time was spent on a local farm mucking out the stalls in exchange for time riding their horses. Susan also began her passion for writing poetry at the age of nine.
Ms.Pelletier met her husband at the Getty station across the street from her home. While joking, they discussed their birthdays and discovered they were only one day apart. Two years later at exactly 12 mid-night, he proposed. They were married on October 20, 1973. Ms. Pelletier designed and sewed the wedding gown she wore on her wedding day.
Over the next eight years, while helping her husband build their own home, she gave birth to her three children. When her youngest child started school, Ms.Pelletier decided to go back to work. At first she only worked part-time, but she began working full time as a teacher’s aide at Project Duke in the Oxford School system. Ms. Pelletier had worked with Autistic students for twenty-two years when she retired.
While working, she became best friends with another aide, Jan Bursell. At the end of the school year all the aides decided to go to the beach. Jan, who grew up in Westerly, Rhode Island, suggested Misquamicut Beach. Ms. Pelletier calls Misquamicut, “Her Ocean” and it is the setting for Turning Point.
In 2004, Susan was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Eventually forcing her to stop working, she turned to her dream of writing a book. Turning Point is her first novel. She still lives in the home she built with her husband of 42 years and her dog Zorro. Ms. Pelletier has the “over 60 nativity sets” mentioned in her novel. When not at home, she’s spending time with her five grandchildren or volunteering on her church’s mission trips.
Discussion Questions
1. What is your family heritage?
2. Did it influence who you are today? Why or why not?
3. Do you have family traditions passed down for generations?
4. What is your favorite holiday? Do you have a special memory?
5. In Turning Point, Varvara travels to many countries. Where have you traveled? Do you have a favorite trip you remember?
6. The angel tree and the collection of over 60 Nativity sets described in the book actually are Susan's. Do you collect anything special?
7. Varvara tells Vari that butterflies bring down messages from heaven. Do you believe this? Do you have another belief that's similar?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)