Grand Central Publishing
September 2013
On Sale: September 17, 2013
398 pages ISBN: 1455520659 EAN: 9781455520657 Kindle: B00BOTU42A Hardcover / e-Book Add to Wish List
In the tradition of his beloved first novel, The
Notebook, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Nicholas Sparks returns with the remarkable story of two
couples whose lives intersect in profound and surprising
ways.
Ira Levinson is in trouble. Ninety-one years
old and stranded and injured after a car crash, he struggles
to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes
beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine
years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain
alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together -
how they met, the precious paintings they collected
together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and
their families. Ira knows that Ruth can't possibly be in the
car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories,
reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their
marriage.
A few miles away, at a local bull-riding
event, a Wake Forest College senior's life is about to
change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko
meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little
resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered
at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in
which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward --
even life and death - loom large in everyday life. As she
and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a
future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has
the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he's keeping
doesn't destroy it first.
Ira and Ruth. Sophia and
Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are
separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will
converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that
even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary
journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest
reaches of the human heart.