The car crash should have killed her, but rookie paramedic Peter Webster takes the emergency call and helps the young woman, Sheila Arsenault, to survive. After the accident, she haunts his thoughts and soon he is embroiled in an intense love affair and in Sheila's troubled life. Eighteen years later, Sheila is long gone and Peter is raising their daughter, Rowan, alone. But Rowan is veering dangerously off-course and Peter fears for her future. He seeks out the only person who may be able to help Rowan, although Sheila's return is sure to unleash all the questions Peter has been carefully keeping at bay: why would a mother leave her family? How did the marriage of two people deeply in love unravel?
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About the Author:
Anita Shreve is the acclaimed author of 15 previous novels, including A Change in Altitude; Testimony; The Pilot's Wife, which was a selection of Oprah's Book Club; and The Weight of Water, which was a finalist for England's Orange prize. She lives in Massachusetts.
From AudioFile:
Dennis Holland maintains a steady pace and distinctive subtle accents in the midst of the domestic drama and dramatic EMT rescues that fill this novel. The book opens on Vermont EMT and single father Peter Webster's struggles with his teenage daughter Rowan's drinking and other self-destructive behavior. The story then flashes back to an earlier time and his rescue of Sheila, a woman under the influence who has caused a car accident. Sheila's wild spirit and Boston accent exert a pull on Peter, and the couple falls in love--and marries. Soon enough, things begin to fall apart as Sheila's alcoholism escalates, and a dramatic incident that threatens the infant Rowan's safety brings the marriage to an end. Holland vocalizes the simplest scenarios with compassion as he deftly captures Peter's gentle soul and Sheila's destructive compulsions. A.W. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
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- PublisherCharnwood
- Publication date2011
- ISBN 10 1444808370
- ISBN 13 9781444808377
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages328
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Rating