A Thoughtful Book…

I recently read Debbie Macomber’s new novel, Cottage by the Sea. I reserved this book at the library as soon as I saw it on the new book list. I had to wait a bit to get it, but it was worth the wait. Debbie Macomber is one of my favorite writers, and this book clicked for me from the moment I looked at the painting of a beach cottage on the book jacket and read the review…lovely family times at the beach, after tragedy strikes, one person comes back to the favorite vacation spot.

As soon as I checked out the book, I found this novel was based on an actual occurrence, a 2014 mudslide and collapse of a hillside near Oso, Washington, north of Seattle, after much heavy rainfall, something I remembered only slightly, as I live on the opposite side of the U.S.

For years, my family spent a weekend in Hilton Head Island….Grandpa H. would rent a house for Mother’s Day week. We have many lovely memories…Three girl-cousins walking hand-in-hand to the beach, Grandmother H. pushing the umbrella stroller full of sand toys, even after the boy got too big for it, the girls all wanting to hold his hand on the way, finding sand dollars and live starfish with their “Velcro” valves wiggling, throwing them back in the surf so they could swim away….

Unlike the character in this book, Mr. H. and I have not been back to our family beach since the last time with the grandparents, although one of our daughters spent a weekend there this summer. She had a great time, after almost 10 years. Maybe we should try going back.

This is an excellent, book, one which I would recommend for anyone who enjoys special times with family, or anyone who misses their family. It is a story full of kindness and healing while helping others.