"Lovely, romantic story of the highest order!"

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 is drifting irrevocably toward her 40th birthday.

Grace believes life is slipping by, a feeling magnified when two days before Steve is due to leave on his latest deployment, she discovers he's lied about something that happened before they met. She can't forgive him, and Steve leaves with the situation unresolved between them.

Torn by emotions she dare hardly identify, Grace is determined to make some changes, not just in her life, but in herself. She finds a house she wants to buy, starts her own Internet company and begins a fitness regimen to improve her appearance.

Meanwhile, her twins, Brian and Emma, have problems of their own. Brian insists on attending an art college when he leaves school, instead of the Naval Academy his father wants. Emma, popular, yet vulnerable, faces a terrifying ordeal that leaves her wounded inside. And 15-year-old Katie is struggling to settle into yet another new school.

Then, the unthinkable happens: Steve is injured, possibly lost at sea. Suddenly, they all realize that the strongest bond of all is love.

Ms. Wiggs' writing is magical. Her grasp of Navy life, of the needs of duty and family, make compulsive reading. This book is a lovely, romantic story of the highest order, and I want to read it all over again.

Reviewed by Carrie Holmes
Courtesy Old Book Barn Gazette
Posted March 10, 2004

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.