There’s something about a family vacation. Rocky’s family has been going to Cape Cod every summer for two decades, and now that her kids are grown, she’s looking forward to spending time with them. They stay in the same rental cottage every year, and they all have so many memories—laughs, triumphs, tears, tragedies—through the years.
Rocky and her husband, Neil, are part of the sandwich generation, halfway between their adult children and their aging parents. They truly love each other, but lately their relationship has been experiencing some friction, in part because of Rocky’s menopause-related mood swings, and partly because of Neil’s ability to wall himself off from emotional or stressful situations.
When a secret is revealed to Rocky, it triggers memories of a particularly sad time in her life, memories which she has borne alone. That is part of the tension she feels toward Neil, but if she didn’t share, how could he have known?
This is a quiet, character-driven book that is so full of funny and emotional moments. It draws so much of its power from not only the beach trips, the conversations, the random meals, but also the glimpses of how the passage of time affects each of us. I really thought this was beautifully written.
“This is how it is to love somebody. You tell them the truth. You lie a little. And sometimes you don’t say anything at all.”
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