I am a sucker for a good beach read. Put a beach scene on a
book’s cover and you can safely bet I’ll buy it.
Over the years, I’ve lost myself in countless stories about love,
friendship, and family dynamics set along a myriad of sandy coastlines. Often
these books by popular authors such as Elin Hilderbrand, Karen White, Dorothea
Benton Frank, Susan Mallery, and Cassandra King are more guilty pleasure than
literature. My favs show realistic women facing day to day ups-and-downs, relationships,
love, and loss, and have at least a somewhat happy ending. Their stories engage
me while I’m reading them, even though they often run together or slip from my
memory a few weeks later.
And, then there is the other kind of beach book—the ones
that stay with me—even haunt me—in some memorable way. A book I may have read 10
or 20 years ago that remains on my bookshelf because something made it a book I
want to own. Here are a few of my all-time
favorites.
THE SAVING GRACES
by Patricia Gaffney - Emma, Rudy, Lee, and Isabel have been best friends for
years. They find salvation in sharing
their dreams, complaints, and sorrows with humor, acceptance, and grace, hence
their nickname “the Saving Graces.” If you have a BFF you will recognize the
Saving Graces.
I read THE SAVING
GRACES over 15 years ago when I first started writing PEACE BY PIECE. I was entranced by the intimate friendships, joys,
and heartaches of these four friends. THE
SAVING GRACES has a special place in my reader heart and on my bookshelf,
because in my early days as a writer, I often studied how Ms. Gaffney used details
to show the qualities and flaws that make Emma, Rudy, Lee, and Isabel distinguishable
and lifelike. While THE SAVING GRACES falls into the more guilty pleasure than literature category, the tender loyalty
these girlfriends share made it memorial for me.
BEACH MUSIC by
Pat Conroy - When it comes to gut-wrenchingly depicting the inner turmoil and the
anguish of dysfunctional family secrets, especially with a southern flavor, Pat
Conroy is the master. BEACH MUSIC is
about a father and his young daughter trying to find peace after his wife’s
suicide. A complex set of circumstances compel him to return to his roots in South
Carolina. Pat Conroy’s imagery and—occasionally over the top—lyrical prose brings
the south to life. If you’ve read any of his books, you know he has a special talent
for creating complex southern mothers and sympathetic tortured characters that
you simultaneously love, cringe from, or at times, want to slap. Pat Conroy’s expressive
prose and heart-tugging drama isn’t for the faint of heart. Be ready for an
emotional roller-coaster.
THE YEAR OF FOG by
Michelle Richmond – A haunting, heartbreaking and hopeful must read. Abby Mason is taking pictures on a foggy
beach with her soon-to-be stepdaughter, when the unthinkable happens. Six-year-old
Emma vanishes. Abby‘s guilt consumes her in the weeks following Emma’s disappearance.
Well after the police search has died down, she repeatedly retraces that
stretch of beach searching for clues. Her single-minded persistence and
unwillingness to give up on finding Emma will resonate with anyone who has ever
loved someone too much to let them go. This book had me from page one—actually,
it had me with once glance at the cover.
Now you know a few of my favorite beach reads, what are some
of yours?
And, here’s a Memorial Day thank you for you. Just in time
for the unofficial start of summer, CAPE
MAYBE is on sale. Starting today, download your e-copy for just 99¢ Buy Now
This special 99¢ countdown sale price is for a limited time—download now so
you don’t miss out. And, share this special with your friends so they can get their
on-sale copy, too.
Happy Summer and Happy
Reading.
