This is a lovely, quiet book about relationships between women--in this case, three women at different periods of their lives who come together to support each other while living on a houseboat. It's not sentimental or maudlin but rather a realistic look at how we deal with tragedy and the unexpected, whether that be a surprise pregnancy and abusive boyfriend, the death of a husband, or our own mental decline, by just soldiering on. There is a lot of archaeology in this book (and I think a recent visit to the Jamestown dig helped me understand what was going on in those parts), and also a lovely tribute to [Anne of Green Gables]. For me, it was surprising that this book was written by a man, but that is what can happen when women characters are depicted as just people--it helps us see how much we all have in common and how our friendships can sustain us sometimes even better than our romantic or family relationships. ( )

I wanted this book to be longer, but enjoyed it greatly. After a friend suggested we read this for our book group, I'm interested in reading more of Joe Coomer's work. The characters feel so real, it's the kind of story that meshes with your memories and you wonder if you actually knew them and witnessed the events. ( )

Slow going at the beginning, this book is actually an interesting tale/saga of 3 women at liminal points in their lives: alzheimers, widowhood and pregnancy. Not terribly realistic but a story told well....something along the lines of Nevil Shute. ( )

such a rewarding story, three women so different in age, background, situation develop the most amazing relationship amongst one another, and adventure to boot. We experience emotion and frustration through the beautifully written prose and brilliant weaving of plot. ( )

intriguing characters; you come to care about these 3 women of different generation sharing a houseboat and learning from each other.

This was my first Coomer but definitely not my last. ( )