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"Simply superb"
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted March 10, 2004

For two decades Grace Bennett has been the perfect navy wife to her beloved Steve while traveling the globe when her husband gets restationed and raising their three delightful children. So why is the devoted family matriarch feeling worthless and dissatisfied? Perhaps it is simply that her youngest Read more...

"Lovely, romantic story of the highest order!"
Reviewed by Carrie Holmes
Courtesy Old Book Barn Gazette
Posted March 10, 2004

On the face of it, Navy wife Grace Bennett has it all - a loving husband, Steve, three wonderful children and a strong marriage. But times are changing. Her children are growing up, her husband seems bound for a promotion that will make his job even more demanding, and Grace Read more...

Susan Wiggs deftly portrays the struggles and triumphs of an American family facing life's greatest challenges as they come to understand the timeless lessons of the heart.

Summary

Grace Bennett has it all—three wonderful children, a devoted husband and a life of adventure and travel. But beneath the calm demeanor of an efficient Navy wife, Grace stands at the crossroads—of her life and her marriage. When she looks in the mirror, she doesn't recognize the person staring back. She's tired, out of shape and feeling invisible. Somewhere between her husband's demanding career, raising a family, the constant uprooting and the Navy's routine, Grace has lost her sense of self. Something needs to change. She needs to change.

Steve Bennett simply can't understand the unraveling of his wife's heart. He thought he was proving his love to her with each promotion. He believed he could still be a good husband and father while juggling an officer's myriad duties. But he now realizes they were seeing their marriage through different eyes. And when a nearly forgotten secret resurfaces, Grace's discontent comes into sharp focus. Now Steve must try to make their marriage right again before his next deployment. For himself. For his family. For the twenty years of shared history that have always anchored him to home.

Then duty calls.

Separated by an ocean of regrets and longing, Grace and Steve take a hard look at their faltering marriage, the love that brought them together and the family they cherish. They confront the choices they've made, the sacrifices they've rationalized and the dreams they've set adrift.

But just as they come to grips with their marriage, the unthinkable happens—a disaster aboard Steve's aircraft carrier shatters Grace's world. As she gathers her children around her and waits for news, she faces a Navy wife's worst nightmare—the cold truth that life's biggest chances can slip away while you're looking for guarantees.