Beryl W. reviewed on 3/21/2010 + 44 more book reviews

This book left me breathless. To understand the meaning of forgiveness, to find hope in the hopeless, to acknowledge that we are all essentially the same, to learn to let go of hate, this story is breathtaking! A moment in time that can't be changed. A "miracle child" who is born to a couple in their 40's is six when he is killed in a car accident caused by a drunken driver. That driver, Cindy Ann, turns out to be a high school friend, a mother of three girls who are all unharmed in the crash. The ties between the grief stricken mother, Meg, and Cindy Ann go back to a time when one confided to the other a terrible secret about her stepfather, who later shot himself. Unable to cope with this the knowledge in this confidence, Meg not only turned away, but implied that Cindy Ann might be to blame for what happened. Now, more than 20 years later, Meg tries to come to terms with the fact that her former friend has killed her son, as friend's children are unhurt. Meg and her husband Rex feel she should be made to pay in some way. They bring a civil suit, but before it is decided, they decide to leave the small Wisconsin town and all the terrible memories lingering there to live on a cruising sailboat. Meg understands that the suit has been dropped. Aboard the boat, and in ports where they land, they pretend to those they meet that they are childless. Still the pain and grief is relentless untill one night, at a girl's night out with women she has met sailing, startling stories of horror and tragedy are reveiled. It is a turning point for Meg. She is driven to find answers for herself, and in doing so, risks everything she has left. One of the best books I have ever read, lilting prose, powerful sentences, astonishing tenderness!
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