Claire gives her friends a number of reasons for wanting to spend three weeks on the road. First, she wants to escape from the label “cancer victim” and just be Claire in the big, wide world. Second, she wants to finish running the rapids of the Hudson Valley Gorge. And third, she wants to avoid her sisters’ medical interventions. Which reason do you think is the primary one? Do you think Claire, the disillusioned idealist, has other, underlying reasons that she doesn’t admit, maybe not even to herself?
Nicole is undergoing a crisis of confidence because of her failure to identify and effectively manage her son’s mood and behavioral problems. She sets off for Pine Lake in the hopes of rediscovering the confident, capable woman she needs to be in order to help Noah upon his return from the Hope Recovery Center. When does she first start to find her mojo? Does Pine Lake prove to be the magic elixir?
Jenna, like many introverts, has learned to adapt her temperament to function in a world that favors extroverts. Can you relate to Jenna’s social difficulties? Do you know people like Jenna? What about you? Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
Claire, Jenna, and Nicole are all facing crises that will result in profound change in their lives. Jenna is fighting against the destruction of her family, Nicole grapples with her son’s behavioral issues, and Claire is facing her own mortality. Their issues cannot really be solved, only managed. Who, in your opinion, handles these life-altering issues with the most grace?
Before Claire has a change of heart about her medical treatment, she is certain about the decision she has made, even though her friends and family disagree. How do you feel about Claire’s choices? By initially refusing treatment, is she showing wisdom at the inevitability of mortality? Or is she being irrational? Even selfish?
Jenna remarks that her daughter, Zoe, has “a touch of the changeling” because of how temperamentally different they are. Nicole could say the same about Noah after her once-amenable son morphs into a moody, unpredictable teenager. Perhaps most children, in the eyes of their baffled parents, have this “touch of the changeling.” How about your children? And what about you? Did you grow up to baffle your own parents?
The fate of one of the ladies of the Pine Lake Sisterhood, Theresa, remains a mystery, a thematic reminder that not everyone will find a happy ending. If you had to speculate, what do you think happened to Three-Tat Tess?
Who is your favorite character, and what is it about her and/or her situation that you most relate to? Who among the secondary characters—Jin, Maya, Sydney, Riley, and Lu—are you most drawn to?
Each woman remembers her hometown of Pine Lake differently. To Nicole, it’s the land of her heavenly youth. To Claire, it’s a town that had more than its share of socioeconomic problems. To Jenna, it’s a place she visits regularly and the site of many a middle-school gaffe. Would you approach a visit to your own hometown more like Nicole, Jenna, or Claire? Are your remembrances also colored by the experiences of your youth?
Jenna makes a decision in the middle of the road trip to return to Seattle to confess her love for Nate. Was Jenna being courageous for putting her heart on the chopping block? Or was she just being foolish for giving Nate another chance to hurt her?
While in Thailand, Claire had difficulty accepting one particular Buddhist concept. In order to reach Nirvana, one must acknowledge the sufferings of one’s past and understand that it was in these most troubled times where the seeds of happiness were sown. Jenna gets a hint of this when she finally realizes that maybe she isn’t the bad parent she secretly believed she was. Thinking back on your own difficult life experiences, do you believe there is truth in this Buddhist concept?
Sometime during the journey, Nicole finally realizes that even a therapist can benefit from a support group. Accepting help can be a very difficult and humbling thing to do—especially if you are the one who usually does the giving. Have you ever been in a position of physical, financial, or emotional need to the point where you required outside help? Was it difficult to ask for that help? What was the trigger that pushed you to find the help you needed?
Nate’s request for a divorce is such a shock that Jenna fills a crate and leaves their home. Based on how Nate behaves whenever Jenna confronts him, what do you think Nate’s real feelings are about the adultery, the divorce, Sissy, Jenna, and the new pregnancy?
In one of the most surprising random acts of kindness in the story, the Pine Lake women shave their heads to show solidarity with Claire. It’s a bold sacrifice in a society that puts so much weight on a woman’s physical appearance. Yet several of the women find the act liberating. If you had a good friend undergoing chemotherapy, could you make that same choice?
About the Author
While studying for her PhD in chemistry, Lisa Verge Higgins wrote and sold her first novel. Now an author of sixteen books, this opera-loving mother of three has twice had a novel listed among the top twenty novels of the year by Barnes & Noble’s General Fiction Forum. Her stories about women’s lives and women’s friendships have been described by reviewers as “joyous, uplifting life lessons” that “inspire us to focus on what’s really important in our lives.” When not writing stories, Lisa works as a reviewer for the New York Journal of Books. She currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and their three teenage daughters, who never fail to make life interesting.
Also by Lisa Verge Higgins
The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship
One Good Friend Deserves Another
Friendship Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
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Don’t miss the other heartwarming titles from Lisa Verge Higgins
Praise for the Novels of Lisa Verge Higgins
Friendship Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
“This novel reveals the excitement of European travel while honestly reflecting on the pain and confusion that accompany the grieving process… [This] story of self-discovery is both heartwarming and thought-provoking.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Compelling…Readers who lose themselves in this wonderful book will be rewarded with the discovery of the value of true friendship.
—Kirkus Reviews
“Higgins does a nice job of balancing the characters’ voices, and with each woman at a different stage in her life, diverse readers will find something to connect to. A natural for group discussions.”
—Booklist
“Do not miss this rich celebration of friendship—its power to heal, to fulfill, and to put life’s adventures into perspective. This book is as comforting as a cup of tea with your best friend.”
—Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author of Return to Willow Lake
One Good Friend Deserves Another
“Engaging…Higgins scores with a richly told story of what every girl wants, and the friends who’d sacrifice everything to help her get it.”
—Publishers Weekly
“4½ stars! Higgins doesn’t use flowery verse; she presents hard realities, dysfunction, and, best of all, possibilities and hope. Her research shines through with brilliant factual narrative in a novel that you won’t soon forget.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Characters that could have been stock (the rich girl, the Trekkie programmer) have a depth that is strengthened by relationships with family, boyfriends, the past, and, most important, friends.”
—Booklist
“Reminiscent of the Sex and the City TV series…easy and fun, chock-full of humor and entertainment…relays the necessity of taking risks and the power of friendship to pick you up when you fall.”
—Norfolk Daily News (NE)
The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship
“A life-affirming novel…A happy reminder that life is all about taking risks.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Quirky, original, and startlingly refreshing, this is a novel about friends. It’s a novel about risks. And it’s a novel about dreams, what we thought they were and wh
at we discover them to be…Great novel. Great reading.”
—TheReviewBroads.com
“A lovely novel with moments of deeply moving insight into what it means to be a mother, a wife, and a friend. Read it and share it with your own friends—you’ll be glad you did!”
—Nancy Thayer, New York Times bestselling author of The Hot Flash Club and Beachcombers
“An amazing novel of love, friendship, and community. A truly joyous read that marks an impressive debut.”
—Jane Porter, author of Flirting with Forty and She’s Gone Country
“Poignant, romantic, and funny…about the need for our closest friends to occasionally give us a shove in the right direction when we’ve lost our way. You’ll recognize yourself in these women. I loved it.”
—Claire LaZebnik, author of Knitting Under the Influence and If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home Now
“Expertly woven together by Lisa Verge Higgins…simply but beautifully written…the common thread is Rachel, who has given the best gift a friend can give—a second chance.”
—RomanceJunkies.com
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Reading Group GuideA Letter from the Author
Discussion Questions
About the Author
Also by Lisa Verge Higgins
You Might Also Like…
Praise for the Novels of Lisa Verge Higgins
Newsletters
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Lisa Verge Higgins
Cover design by Kathleen Lynch
Cover photography by Red Edge / Jan Bickerton
Cover copyright © 2014 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Grand Central Publishing
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First ebook edition: March 2014
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978-1-4555-7286-1
E3
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Reading Group Guide
A Letter from the Author
Discussion Questions
About the Author
Also by Lisa Verge Higgins
You Might Also Like…
Praise for the Novels of Lisa Verge Higgins
Newsletters
Table of Contents
Copyright