Author: Barbara Delinsky
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (June 6, 2000)
Format: Audio; Hardcover; Pgs 368
Genre: Fiction / Light Romance
Source: Library
I have to admit that if it were not for the fact that I had been listening to this book on CD while driving to and from work, I would have tossed it midway. I understand that it was meant to be a slow meandering journey through the life of Natalie Seebring, interweaving the lives of her children and Olivia Jones who was hired as her personal assistant and biographer. Let us face it; this was so monotonous that it allowed my mind to wander without feeling that I missed a thing.
In the past, I loved Lake News and An Accidental Woman and have been in a never-ending search for a Delinsky book that lives up to those two – I just have not found it.
Olivia Jones dreams of a family that she could be a part of. As a photo restorer, she visualizes herself in the lives of those that she looks at every day; imagining what it would be like to have a family that is happy to be together. A family that share their lives together. Being a single parent of a difficult dyslexic ten year old is not easy, but this is the life that she has been dealt and will make the best of, but that does not stop her from dreaming.
Natalie Seabring is about to drop a bombshell on her family. Recently widowed after fifty-eight years of marriage, Natalie has announced her upcoming plans to wed Carl Burke, vineyard employee. Her children only know him as a man that helped their beloved father build the Asquonset Vineyard in Rhode Island. What could Carl be up to; they do not trust him and begin to question their mother’s devotion to their father.
Responding to an inquiry for a biographer, Olivia applies and when offered the job, she and her daughter Tess set out for the adventure that they need to change their lives. A summer away on a beautiful vineyard with the ocean in their backyard and a hope for a fresh start for both mother and daughter is what both desperately need.
As the memoir unfolds, lives on Asquonset will be forever c hanged. Dreams are shattered and hopes are realized as layers are revealed. Natalie’s life was not as charmed as her children had always thought. The woman that they felt had always been distant now explains to them the sacrifices that she was willing to make for the love of family. Now it is her turn, she is going to pursue her dreams and her children had better get onboard.
Though a generation separates Natalie and Olivia, each woman has something to share and learn from the other. Both are seeking what is missing in their lives and both appreciate that reality can be so much more than the fantasy that they had idealized.
In the past, I loved Lake News and An Accidental Woman and have been in a never-ending search for a Delinsky book that lives up to those two – I just have not found it.
Olivia Jones dreams of a family that she could be a part of. As a photo restorer, she visualizes herself in the lives of those that she looks at every day; imagining what it would be like to have a family that is happy to be together. A family that share their lives together. Being a single parent of a difficult dyslexic ten year old is not easy, but this is the life that she has been dealt and will make the best of, but that does not stop her from dreaming.
Natalie Seabring is about to drop a bombshell on her family. Recently widowed after fifty-eight years of marriage, Natalie has announced her upcoming plans to wed Carl Burke, vineyard employee. Her children only know him as a man that helped their beloved father build the Asquonset Vineyard in Rhode Island. What could Carl be up to; they do not trust him and begin to question their mother’s devotion to their father.
Responding to an inquiry for a biographer, Olivia applies and when offered the job, she and her daughter Tess set out for the adventure that they need to change their lives. A summer away on a beautiful vineyard with the ocean in their backyard and a hope for a fresh start for both mother and daughter is what both desperately need.
As the memoir unfolds, lives on Asquonset will be forever c hanged. Dreams are shattered and hopes are realized as layers are revealed. Natalie’s life was not as charmed as her children had always thought. The woman that they felt had always been distant now explains to them the sacrifices that she was willing to make for the love of family. Now it is her turn, she is going to pursue her dreams and her children had better get onboard.
Though a generation separates Natalie and Olivia, each woman has something to share and learn from the other. Both are seeking what is missing in their lives and both appreciate that reality can be so much more than the fantasy that they had idealized.
No comments:
Post a Comment