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"An amazingly emotional read!"
Reviewed by Kathy Boswell
Posted April 11, 2006

It is always so hard to come home and for Caroline Collier it's especially hard for a number of reasons. The biggest reason is she feels she has been a big disappointment for her mother her entire life. Her younger brother Jude died in a car accident when Read more...

"terrific insightful character study"
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted April 25, 2006

Thirty-one years old Atlanta accountant Caroline Collier has not lived only existed in thirteen years since the death of her beloved younger brother Jude. She has the scar on her chest to remind her of what he donated to her when he died at the accident that almost killed Read more...

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Summary

Caroline Collier is a woman bogged down in the harsh realities of a life barely lived. Stress from her all-consuming job as an accountant has given her panic attacks, forcing her to take a leave of absence from work. And though her chances of relaxing in the presence of her overbearing, perfect mother are slim, she joins her at the family's vacation home in the mountains of North Carolina.

Though Caroline loves the serene beauty of Lake Ophelia, peace of mind is not to be found. Memories of her beloved younger brother, who died when she was seventeen, continue to haunt her, while the tensions between her mother and her still simmers. Only their neighbors, the widower and daughter of once of Caroline's childhood friends, seem able to penetrate her cool reserve, giving Caroline the courage to face her biggest fears—and dive headfirst into life...