Black Wave: A Family's Adventure at Sea and the Disaster That Saved Them
Jean and John Silverwood, 2008
Random House
224 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781588367341 (Kindle ed.)
Summary
I told God that if he would let us survive this night, I would make it mean something worthwhile. And then, somehow, I felt calmer than I have ever felt. Unreasonably so. Irrationally so. I looked over the scene of our wrecked life and I smiled—a crazy smile for sure—and I looked through the dark at the mad beauty of it. —Jean Silverwood
An exhilarating true-life adventure of one family’s extraordinary sea voyage of self-discovery and survival, tragedy and triumph
Successful businessman John Silverwood and his wife, Jean, both experienced sailors, decided the time was right to give their four children a taste of thrilling life on the high seas. And indeed their journey aboard the fifty-five-foot catamaran Emerald Jane would have many extraordinary and profound moments, whether it was the peaceful late-night watches John enjoyed under the stunning celestial sky or the elation shared by the whole family at the sight of blissful pods of dolphin and migrating tortoises.
John and Jean had hoped to use the trip as a teaching opportunity, with the Emerald Jane as a floating classroom in which to instruct their children in important lessons–not only about the natural world but about the beauty of human life when stripped down to its essence, far from the trappings of civilization.
Yet rather than flourishing amid the new freedoms and responsibilities thrust upon them, the children were sometimes confused, frightened, resentful. The two oldest, fourteen-year-old Ben and twelve-year-old Amelia, missed their friends and the comfortable life left behind in San Diego, while the two youngest, Jack, seven, and Camille, three, picked up on the stressful currents running above and below the surface—for throughout the journey, the Silverwood family found its bonds tested as never before (From the publisher.)
Author Bios
John Silverwood
• Birth—1952
• Where—Detroit, Michigan, USA
• Education—B.A., Colgate University
• Currently—San Diego, California
Jean Silverwood
• Rasied—New York City, New York, USA
• Rasied—Pleasantville, New York
• Education—
• Currently—San Diego, California
was born in New York City, the oldest of six children and grew up in Pleasantville, NY. I commuted by train into Manhattan for college and subsequently worked in Advertising sales for a magazine there. Standing on the frigid train platform in the middle of February inspired me to move to warmer weather and I was offered a chance to move to St. Croix in the USVI where sailing became a part of my life. After two years in the Virgin Islands, paradise became too much to handle and I moved back to New York, met John, got married and settled in San Diego. I became an account executive in commercial insurance and later joined forces with John to open a real estate development firm. During this time, we had three beautiful children, Ben, Amelia and Jack. When our fourth child Camille came along it was time to retire from the office. This was the time I started planning our getaway on a sailboat.
Book Reviews
The jaw-dropping true tale of the Silverwood family and their awe-inspiring survival when faced with the most harrowing of events on the high seas is a truly remarkable account. Carrington Macduffie and Joe Barrett bring this story to life, capturing the tense journey down to the slightest detail in these realistic readings. While Macduffie certainly offers more in the line of theatrics, both performances are earnest and raw, allowing the listeners to ebb and flow with the story as if they were tucked away on the Silverwood's 50-foot catamaran. The journey is the destination in this tersely written tale, and with skilled, experienced narrators guiding the way, this trip proves seaworthy.
Publishers Weekly
It could be said that the Silverwoods' account of hitting a coral reef off the Scilly Islands is a repeat of history, because their 50-foot catamaran, the Emerald Jane, did exactly what the tall sailing ship Julia Ann had done in 1855. Luckily for John, Jean, and their four children, they had the benefit of 21st-century survival gear, particularly the GPS survival beacon that provided the crucial link to the French emergency crews who saved them. Black Wave is an exciting tale; readers know from the start that the family survives, but what makes for deep engagement is learning the parallel story of Captain Pond and his crew and passengers. It is during John Silverwood's recovery and rehabilitation-his leg is crushed during the wreck and later amputated-that he learns about the Julia Ann. As he delves into its history and learns how the 19th-century crew dealt with their devastating misadventure, it helps him put his family's experience into perspective. This book shows that we all deal with catastrophic events differently, but if our actions are explored and investigated, we learn that human beings, no matter the era, have the same basic instincts and needs to make sense of their experiences (Adult/High School). —Joanne Ligamari, Twin Rivers United School District, Sacramento, CA
School Library Journal
A San Diego family's adventure-filled, two-year journey from New York to the South Pacific in a 55-foot catamaran sailboat. Along the way, the Silverwoods endured close encounters with modern-day pirates of the Caribbean, a Force-10 gale off Colombia, a broken generator in Tahiti and every kind of sea creature imaginable. In many ways, the children-Ben, 16, Amelia, 14, Jack, nine, and Camille, five-proved more resilient than their parents. John, an alcoholic, suffered several tumbles from the wagon early on, causing his admittedly high-strung wife Jean to nearly pack up the kids and leave. He soon righted himself, aided by some hastily arranged tropical AA meetings, and Jean was eventually calmed by daily runs on the beach and the companionship of a chance-met South African family making a similar round-the-world voyage. The Silverwoods' courage and survival skills got their ultimate test when the Emerald Jane crashed into a hidden reef in the remote South Pacific, destroying the boat and severely damaging John's leg. In this life-and-death trial, all of them were changed, brought together as few families ever are. The first-time authors prove able narrators and engaging hosts throughout this well-crafted memoir. Wisely, they focus not only on the natural wonders experienced on their marathon journey, but on the small everyday matters: meal preparations, the kids' home schooling at sea, mechanical problems with the boat. These up-close, authentic details enrich a story that works on many levels-as intimate family portrait, colorful travelogue and high-seas drama. Moreover, the Silverwoods wrecked on the same reef where a three-masted sailing ship, the Julia Ann, was struck back in1855,thus providing them with a riveting historical coda to their own adventure. Highly readable, educational and entertaining. Agent: Mel Berger/William Morris Agency
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
(We'll add specific questions if and when they're made available by the publisher.)
Hitler's Doubles: Fully-Illustrated
Peter Fotis Kapnistos, 2015
CreateSpace
pp. 572
ISBN-13: 9781496071460
Summary
Was the brutal dictator of the 20th century the masked instrument of a double image delusion? Recently released war records reveal “political decoys” (doppelgangers or body-doubles).
It is documented that the Nazi Fuhrer vetted at least four doubles. Look-alikes and crisis actors were used to impersonate Hitler in order to draw attention away from him and to deal with risks on his behalf. Hitler’s Doubles details their names, their peacetime occupations, their deaths, and an escape to South America.
The world’s first donor artificial insemination was with the wife of a Quaker in the late 1800s.
Who was the top-secret paternal donor? Was the Quaker-son secret agent Aleister Crowley one of Adolf Hitler’s doubles? Why did Walt Disney make use of Nazi scientists to build space technology after he visited South America? (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Peter Fotis Kapnistos (born 1951) is a Greek American journalist, editor, and publisher residing in the Eastern Mediterranean islands. Peter was editor for the Athens News, Greece's oldest English-language daily newspaper. In cooperation with the Associated Press and Apple computers, he also oversaw the making of "Greece Today," one of the first direct online English-language desktop published tabloids in the Near East. He helped to introduce public access to the Internet in the east Aegean islands by establishing a number of Internet cafes there.
Peter also worked under Professor Spyridon Marinatos, the archaeologist who excavated the ruins of Akrotiri on the island of Thera (Santorini). He was the assistant of Spiros Tsavdaroglou, an administrative photographer for the National Archaeological Museum of Greece. He assisted the team that photographed the royal tomb of Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, discovered in the 1980s by the archaeologist Manolis Andronicus. (From the author.)
Visit the book website.
Book Reviews
Now a fully illustrated book about Hitler’s various doubles has come out... it certainly is something I would recommend.
Fritz Springmeier, author of "Blood Lines of the Illuminati."
You've done a tremendous amount of research here to document a unique aspect of World War II history.
David Allen Rivera, author of "Final Warning: A History of the New World Order"
Discussion Questions
1. Was the brutal dictator of the 20th century the masked instrument of a double image delusion?
2. Did the Nazi Fuhrer use at least four doubles?
3. The world’s first donor artificial insemination was with the wife of a Quaker in the late 1800s. Who was the top-secret paternal donor?
4. Was the Quaker-son secret agent Aleister Crowley one of Adolf Hitler’s doubles?
5. Why did Walt Disney make use of Nazi scientists to build space technology after he visited South America?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)
The Woods at Barlow Bend
Jodie Cain Smith, 2014
Deer Hawk Publications
296 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781625969705
Summary
A true story about death, loss, and redemption during one of the most tumultuous times in U.S. History, this book follows Hattie from the time she learns of her mother’s horrible death and the murder trial of her father, through her adulthood. Hattie learns of a strength she never knew she had, and that loving someone means forgiving them as well.
One shot fired deep in the pine forests of her youth was all it took to change Hattie’s life forever. At the age of fourteen, Hattie learns that her mother, Addie, is dead, and her father, Hubbard, stands accused of Addie’s murder, along with countless other shocking betrayals.
Overnight, Hattie becomes mother to her three siblings while still very much a child herself. The life she had dreamt of now seems impossible to achieve. How will Hattie break away from the father who prevents her from living the life she desperately wants? Will her heart ever be able to heal in the height of The Great Depression?
Author Bio
• Birth—August 28, 1975
• Where—Mobile, Alabama, USA
• Education—B.F.A., University of South Alabama; M.A.E., Northern Michigan University
• Currently—lives in Columbia, South Carolina
As a teen in Mobile, AL, Jodie Cain Smith listened as her grandmother told her the gripping story of an adolescence spent in 1930’s rural Alabama, the rumors surrounding her parents, and the murder trial that would alter her life. The tale took root in Jodie’s memory until at last it became The Woods at Barlow Bend, her debut novel released in 2015 by Deer Hawk Publications.
While attending the University of South Alabama, where she earned a BFA in Theatre Arts, Jodie met her husband Jay. They began their life on the Army road in 2001 and have not stopped moving since. As an Army Wife, she has lived in six different states spanning from the extreme heat of Texas to the blizzards of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where she earned a MAE in School Counseling at Northern Michigan University, to most recently landing in South Carolina.
Jodie Cain Smith’s feature articles and columns have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Military Spouse’s Soul, Petigru Review, Savannah Morning News, and Fort Hood Sentinel. Her second novel with Deer Hawk Publications, Jubilee Bells, will be released in 2016. (From the author.)
Vsit the author's website and her blog The Queendom.
Book Reviews
A week after finishing Jodie Cain Smith’s novel, The Woods at Barlow Bend, I can’t stop thinking about her characters and the mystery that surrounds the death of the beautiful and lively Addie Andrews.... When you open up this novel, you will forget it’s 2015 and that you have a life outside of the story.... But in a matter of seconds, after reading the author’s opening lines, the Alabama setting will be so familiar, you’ll wonder why you ever left... Because Jodie Cain Smith is such a skilled storyteller, her teenage narrator, Hattie, will wrap around your heart and settle in to stay.
Kathleen M Rodgers, author of Johnnie Come Lately and The Final Salute - Military Spouse Book Review
It was a pleasure to read a book that is so well-written. The fact that the novel is based on actual events was captivating from the start. Smith weaves magic, drawing us in to her grandmother's world. We are left not knowing what actually happened at Barlow Bend because only Hubbard Andrews knew.... Wholly satisfying.
Booklover - Amazon Customer Reviews
Cain-Smith is a passionate writer whose descriptive and captivating style grabs your attention and keeps you focused from page one to the end. You feel the fear, the courage, the grief, and the joy...in the character of Hattie.... A must read for mystery lovers as well as history lovers.
Wonderwoman - Amazon Customer Reviews
Couldn't put this book down. It was a quick read that flowed well and was easy to follow. I kept wanting to find out what happened next to Hattie and her family.... The story would be an excellent read even if it was complete fiction, but knowing it is based on a true story makes it all the more intriguing.
Christine Swadley - Amazon Customer Reviews
The book is a good read and descriptive of 1930s Alabama. Jodie Smith told the story for her family but the reading public is fortunate that she chose to share it with them too.
Jim Cox - Clarke County Democrat
"This would make a great book." It's a common thought after hearing a bit of family history, but few of us take the trouble. Kudos to Ms. Smith for sharing her well-researched family saga."
Michelle Strider, author of Homeless, Homecoming, and Hometown - Goodreads
Spirited, Strong Character Story. Great read! Really enjoyed this book. So many different characters and personalities. Lots of ups and downs...just like any of our lives if we are truly living. Highly recommended."
Sue Ann Simpson - Goodreads
Discussion Questions
1. How did you experience Hattie’s story? Did you find her compelling? Was her plight worthy of exploration?
2. What did you take away from Hattie and Hubbard’s relationship? What effect did that relationship have on Hattie’s future actions?
3. Do you think Hubbard was guilty? If so, of what? Why?
4. Describe your feelings toward Hubbard’s treatment of Millie after the trial. Do you agree with his actions?
5. Describe the significance of the inscription on Addie’s headstone: “Mother.” What do you think of the lack of the word “wife?”
6. Do you agree with Hattie’s decision to elope with Gordon? What do you think of her decision to never date or marry again after losing him at such a young age? What would you have done in her position?
7. If you could ask the author one question about the book, what would that question be?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)
Angels At The Gate
T.K. Thorne, 2015
Cappuccino Books
368 pp.
ISBN-13: 9783906196022
Summary
Winner, 2016 Gold Benjamin Franlin Award
Winner, 2016 Silver Ippy Award for Historical Fiction
Angles At The Gate is the story of Adira, destined to become Lot’s wife.
A daughter of Abram's tribe, Adira is an impetuous young girl whose mother died in childbirth. Secretly raised as a boy in her father’s caravan and schooled in languages and the art of negotiation, Adira rejects the looming changes of womanhood that threaten her nomadic life and independence.
But Adiras world unravels with the arrival of two mysterious strangers—Northmen from an ancient tribe known as the Watchers, men rumored to be holy messengers from El. Raiders invade the caravan, and she loses everything she values most—her father, her freedom, and even the “Angels.”
Caught between her oath to her father to return to her tribe and the “proper life for a woman” and tormented by an impossible love, she abandons all she has known in a dangerous quest to seek revenge and find her kidnapped "Angel." With only her beloved dog, Nami, at her side, Adira must use the skills she learned in the caravan to survive the perils of the desert, Sodom, and her own heart.
Angels At The Gate is a story of adventure and the power of love, exploring themes about choice —the importance of asking the right questions and walking the fine edge between duty and personal freedom. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Born—N/A
• Where—Montgomery, Alabama, USA
• Education—M.S.W, University of Alabama, magna cum laude
• Awards—(see below)
• Currently—lives near Birmingham, Alabama
Awards
- ForeWord Reviews "BOOK OF THE YEAR" for Historical Fiction
- Winner of Portland Book Review for Short Fiction
- Winner of Chattahoochee Valley Writer's Contest for Short Fiction
- Winner of Eugene Walters Writers Festival Termite Hall for Screenplay
- Winner of Magic City Writers' Contest for Short Fiction
- Winner of the Gold Benjamin Franklin Award (Independent Book Publishers Assoc.)
- Winner of the Silver IPPY Award (Independent Publishers) for Historical Fiction.
Storyteller
T.K.Thorne’s childhood passion for storytelling deepened when she became a police officer in Birmingham, Alabama. “It was a crash course in life and what motivated and mattered to people.” When she retired as a captain, she took on Birmingham’s business improvement district as the executive director. Both careers provide fodder for her writing, which has garnered several awards, including “Book of the Year for Historical Fiction” (ForeWord Reviews) for her debut novel Noah’s Wife. Her first non-fiction book, Last Chance for Justice, was featured on the New York Post’s “Books You Should Be Reading” list. She loves traveling, especially to research her novels, and speaking about her books and life lessons.
Thorne is step-mother to three and grandmother to four, all boys. She lives with her husband, Roger, on a mountain in Alabama where she writes, often with two dogs and a cat vying for her lap.
Community
A Leader in her community, she has served on numerous community boards and been recognized with various community awards including:
- Birmingham International Center’s “Motivating Women”
- Chamber of Commerce’s Jesse Lewis Community Service Award
- Girl Scouts Women of Distinction Award
- Operation New Birmingham’s Achievement Award
- The Community Affairs’ “Liberty & Justice Award”
- Birmingham Business Journal’s “Top Birmingham Business Women”
T.K. Shares A Few Fun Facts About Herself:
- I’m a 4th degree black belt in the martial art of Aikido.
- At age 8, I won a ribbon for being stubborn.
- I dove the Great Blue Hole in Belize, the largest sea hole in the world.
- As a rookie police officer, I had to devise a different way to hold a gun because my hands were too small.
- I need Indian food at least once a week.
- Frogs make me smile. (From the author.)
More information available on Wikepedia: T.K. Thorne
Blogs at TKs-Tales.com
Website: www.tkthorne.com
T.K. Talks About Her Writing...(see About page)
Book Reviews
(Starred review.) For readers familiar with the Genesis story of Sodom and Gomorrah, the finale should come as no surprise, but the journey toward that end is well worth following. The characters are flawlessly drawn, utterly human, and completely true to life. The religious and mystical aspects of the Old Testament story are delicately woven into the structure of the novel in a way that honors the original tale without focusing too heavily on divine retribution. This excellent, well-crafted historical novel showcases a truly talented storyteller.
Library Journal
Angels At The Gate is nothing short of a masterwork–superbly and eloquently written, solidly researched and a highspeed page-turner. Readers will be swept up in a story they can't put down.
Elsa D. Rutherford, editor - The Nifty Pickle
…a fantastic story...excellent characterization...so compelling that I could not wait until I could read the next part of the adventure.
San Francisco Book Review
The plot is intelligently mapped and skillfully builds suspense… Thorne portrays ancient lands with an eye for wilderness… scenes unfold in crisp detail… A tale set in biblical times comes to life for a literary audience.
Foreword Reviews
A compelling and exceptional read, Angels At The Gate documents author T. K. Thorne as an impressively talented novelist. This is the stuff of which block-buster movies are made.
Midwest Review
...fans of The Red Tent by Anita Diamant will love this book.
Hutchinson News
a terrific yarn composed of brilliant world-building, clever extrapolation, and fascinating characters… The action is convincing, the characters compelling, and the setting excellently depicted. Not only is the writing smooth, but Thorne cleverly twists the biblical story, adding realism without detracting from religion.
Washington Independent Review of Books
[Thorne] manages to blend historical fiction of the most ancient sort with spiritual themes that wouldn’t frighten away even the most staunch of atheists, and she does so all while developing captivating and heart-tugging characters that you aren’t soon to forget.
Arts Bham
Filled with a remarkable interwoven detailed look into the culture of Abram’s tribe and life in a trade caravan, the second mysterious woman of the bible dramatization (see Noah’s Wife) provides a fascinating look at who Lot’s wife was before she turned into the Pillar of Salt. The key to this entertaining biblical novelization is T.K. Thorne provides a plausible background that explains why Lot's wife would disobey the angelic warning not to look back.
Harriet Klausner - Genre Go Round Review
T. K. Thorne combined religious, archeological and historical study to create this story of a woman who followed her own path in the world… Thanks to Thorne, Lot's wife is transformed back into woman, wayward and strong but alive.
Books That Follow You Home
The reader gets a great story and learns so much about the time of Lot’s wife.
Cathie Martin - WGRT-FM
As she did in Noah's Wife, Thorne gives us a brilliantly imagined alternate history.
Perle Champion - Perle's Ink
Thorne's vivid imagination and gift for storytelling are extraordinary. For all whose curisosity is piqued by how it might have been in the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, this is a must read!
Dianne Mooney, founder - Southern Living At Home
Thorne unspools an ancient adventure with crackling undertones of our contemporary lives. Lean, polished action sequences render a young woman's life with both intensity and nuanced truth.
Carroll Dale Short, journalist, columnist, public radio commentator, author of The Shining Shining Path
A masterpiece of historical research, interweaving history and theology in a re-visioning of an ancient story from a woman's perspective. Thorne is a dazzlingly gifted writer.
Sue Walker, Poet Laureate of Alabama 2003-2012
Adventure, Drama, Love and Losses—I am absolutely enthralled with the writing of T. K. Thorne.
Lenora's Culture Center and Foray into History
...a story of truths behind the myths...The author doesn't disappoint in...stripping away biblical myths and goes deeper into how these myths were formed...filled with amazing attention to detail, gritty life during that time which will not be agreeable to modern sensibilities. ...Also, if you're a doglover, you're in for a treat.
Svetlana's Reads and Views
...if you are looking for a read that is compelling, as well unique, this is definitely something to try.
A Chick Who Reads
It doesn't get any better than this...I LOVED this book....Even if you are not a fan of biblical literature, you will enjoy this book, it's a tale well told.
Book Lovers Paradise
A fascinating read. I love the creative liberties that Thorne took...
Book Nerd
Discussion Questions
1. How did Adira’s childhood posing as a boy influence the way she saw the world and herself? How different do you think it would be today for a girl to pose as a boy?
2. What is the importance of “Asking the right question”? How did it change the way Adira saw the world and the choices she made?
3. The desert is a crucible. How did Adira’s experience in the desert change her?
4. Discuss how “angels at the gate” is used as a metaphor for change.
5. The forces of duty, love, and freedom. What were they? How did they create conflict in her and how did she reconcile them?
6. Do we face the same conflicts today? How do different societies’ values influence decisions?
7. How did understanding the cultural religious roots of the Canaanites affect your perception of Sodom & Gomorrah?
8. How does the author’s vision of Adira “turning into a pillar of salt” differ from or coincide with the traditional interpretations?
(Questions courtesy of ther author.)
The Life Intended
Kristin Harmel, 2015
Gallery Books
368 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781476754154
Summary
A captivating novel about the struggle to overcome the past when our memories refuse to be forgotten.
In this richly told story where Sliding Doors meets P.S. I Love You, Kristin Harmel weaves a heart-wrenching tale that asks: what does it take to move forward in life without forgetting the past?
After her husband’s sudden death over ten years ago, Kate Waithman never expected to be lucky enough to find another love of her life. But now she’s planning her second walk down the aisle to a perfectly nice man. So why isn’t she more excited?
At first, Kate blames her lack of sleep on stress. But when she starts seeing Patrick, her late husband, in her dreams, she begins to wonder if she’s really ready to move on. Is Patrick trying to tell her something?
Attempting to navigate between dreams and reality, Kate must uncover her husband’s hidden message. Her quest leads her to a sign language class and into the New York City foster system, where she finds rewards greater than she could have imagined. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—May 4, 1979
• Where—Newton, Massachusetts, USA
• Education—B.A., University of Florida
• Currently—lives in Orlando, Florida
Kristin Harmel is an American author with more than 10 novels to her name. Originally from Newton, Massachusetts, she gained her first writing experience at the age of 16 as a sports reporter for the St. Petersburg Times, and Tampa Bay All Sports magazine while still attending Northeast High School in St. Petersburg, Florida.
A graduate of the University of Florida, Harmel was a reporter for People magazine starting in 2000. Her work has appeared in dozens of other publications, including Men's Health, Glamour, YM, Teen People, People en Español, Runner's World, American Baby, Every Day With Rachel Ray, and more.
Harmel is the author of more than 10 books, which have been translated into many languages around the world. They include more recently including The Book of Lost Names (2020), The Winemaker’s Wife (2019), The Room on Rue Amelie (2018), and The Sweetness of Forgetting (2012).
Harmel resides in Orlando, Florida with her husband Jason. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 4/22/2015.)
Book Reviews
Twelve years after losing her husband Patrick...Kate Waithman is ready to move on and get remarried. Or is she?... Harmel hooks the reader from the start with this evocative novel and creates a believable world and despite some predictability,...a satisfying conclusion. —Amy Stenftenagel, Washington Cty. Lib., Woodbury, MN
Library Journal
The latest from Harmel...is an affecting tale about finding happiness amid grief and guilt. Some twists are telegraphed early in the novel, but that doesn’t diminish the satisfying conclusion.
Booklist
After a loss like [Kate's], how much should be thrown away and how much kept in the rebuilding? Tensions around these questions...make for an absorbing read. Though elements of the plot are predictable and the prose is unadorned, this book is well-paced and warmhearted.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Before his death, Kate and Patrick share a special phrase, "I knew before I met you . . . that I was meant to be yours." How do you think this theme continues to echo throughout the novel as Kate struggles to understand her destiny?
2. Discuss how karma figures into Kate’s story. Patrick superstitiously collects silver coins and then returns them to the universe when experiencing a stroke of good fortune. How do Kate’s feelings about this habit change? What does it mean when she finally relinquishes Patrick’s last coin?
3. When Dan proposes, Kate is besieged by memories of Patrick that are still fresh even twelve years after his death. Discuss how familiar relationship milestones can trigger the emotion of past loves. Do you sympathize with Kate in this moment? Or should she focus on moving on?
4. As Kate is swept into the past, she must also contend with a certainty about her future—her infertility. Discuss her regret upon realizing that she can’t ever get pregnant. How does she react to Dan’s complete indifference to this news?
5. When Kate wakes up to a dream version of Patrick, she is confronted by a world that is strangely familiar yet full of differences from the life she knew with him. She meets Hannah, a hard of hearing girl who can’t possibly be her biological daughter; finds that her sister, Susan, has a happy life in San Diego; and realizes that she no longer works with children. What kind of trade-offs have occurred in a world where Patrick is still alive?
6. Kate relies heavily on Gina, a friend who also lost her first husband, for emotional support. Are Kate and Gina alike in the way they handle grief? How are they different?
7. As both a music therapist and a volunteer for St. Anne’s, Kate consistently witnesses the healing effects that music can have on struggling children. But not all of her students are easy to reach. Who do you think is the toughest shell to crack, and why? How does Kate earn their trust?
8. As Kate’s dreams become more frequent, her experiences with Andrew are connecting her in new ways to the "real world." Why do you think she is so drawn to him? What about their pasts bring them together now?
9. On the day she goes wedding dress shopping, Kate is haunted by the lace gown she wore when she first walked down the aisle. She’s also certain that she sees her dream daughter, Hannah, pass by on the street. Discuss the fine line between being stuck in the past and letting that past inform your future. What is Kate’s gut trying to tell her here?
10. When Dan says his friend Stephen has accidentally gotten a girl pregnant, Kate feels very conflicted. Discuss this moment in the novel and how it relates to her confession to Joan about wanting to be a mother. How does this moment influence Kate’s decision to call off her wedding to Dan?
11. Kate tells Dan that "sometimes the greatest things in life come from the greatest challenges." (pg. 134) What do you think Kate’s greatest challenge was at the beginning of the novel? What do you think it is by the end?
12. During her dreams, Kate realizes that while some parts of her life are drastically different, her essential characteristics and tastes remain the same. How much do you think a person can change over their lifetime? And which aspects of an individual personality are more likely to stay constant?
13. Kate’s mother reminds her that if she is not careful, "regret will grow in spaces you don't even know are there." (pg. 165) What do you think she means by this? Do you think Kate finds a way to take her advice?
14. Although Kate does not end up adopting Allie, she is cleared as a foster parent and finds her way to Patrick’s lost daughter. She also realizes that Andrew might never have made such an impact at St. Anne’s if he hadn’t lost his brother at a young age. While the novel doesn’t necessarily imply that life is fair, it does suggest that there is a balance and order to things. Do you agree with this outlook? Why or why not?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)