by Ann Packer
First published 2003
Carrie Bell feels trapped in a life that fits her like an old coat she never chose. She moves through her days in a small town, engaged to a man she's known forever, following a path that seems written by someone else. Then her fiancé suffers a serious accident that changes everything. The injury forces Carrie to confront what she really wants from life versus what everyone expects from her. She must choose between staying to fulfill her obligations to others or leaving to discover who she might become on her own. Packer explores the weight of loyalty against the pull of personal freedom, showing how crisis can reveal both our deepest fears and our truest desires.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-driven, slice-of-life
Setting: Clausen's Pier
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
567 pages · Paperback · Large Print Press