Lily Crisp and her husband Paul are very happy living on
their ranch in Idaho with their children, Pierre and
Justine. There are 16 years between the two children. Paul
inherited an old stone house on a hill above the sea in the
French Riviera in the south of France, and each year they
visit La Pierre Rouge with the children.
Lily is devastated when Paul dies after the truck he's
driving is smashed. Pierre, being with his father at the
time, is injured. Lily feels the need to return to La
Pierre Rouge for some "alone" time. With her, she
takes "Madame Olivetti," her ancient but loved typewriter,
with the hope of beginning the healing process through
writing a self-evaluation of her life.
Lily re-examines a love affair she had while married to
Paul and reveals her trials and tribulations during that
time of her life. While at La Pierre Rouge, a handsome and
younger Frenchman, Yves Lebrun, satisfies her sexual
appetite and helps her overcome the loneliness. In the
revelations of the past brought to the surface with her
writing, Lily is able to carry on her life and make
decisions for the future.
Lily is a strong and warm woman who truly loves her husband
and children, but she feels guilt in the secret she carries
involving her daughter. She is on a roller coaster of
feelings when she tries to confront her sorrow and deep
regret. It's a time for rebirth and forgiving herself of
her past sins. Annie Vanderbilt has explored the
depths of the feelings a woman struggles with when life
appears less than perfect. You will find this a tender love
story of self-acceptance.
The coast of Southern France sparkles in this sexy,
mature, and engaging debut novel.
Lily has come
to southern France in search of a new perspective, hoping
that the sun’s soft rays and the fragrant sea breezes will
provide a relaxing respite from the demands of her lively
daughter and her family’s Idaho cattle ranch. Two years
after her husband’s sudden death, in the house that’s been
in his family for generations, she finally finds some
stolen weeks to make sense of the past.
To Madame
Olivetti—her cranky old manual typewriter—Lily entrusts
all her secrets, pounding out the story of the men she
loved, the betrayals she endured, the losses she still
regrets. And with the companionship of Yves, the seductive
handyman who comes by to make repairs, Lily comes closer
to understanding her exhilarating past—and to discovering
she has a new story to tell—one about the delights of
starting over.