Three sisters--who all share the same father but have different mothers and upbringings-- used to meet every summer at their paternal grandmother's house Sea Breeze in the lowcountry of South Carolina.
It's been years and the sisters have lost touch with each other when Maw-Maw (as they call their grandmother, Marietta Muir) decides that it's time for them to re- connect one last summer before she sells her house.
THE SUMMER WIND is Mary Alice Monroe's second installment in the story of the sisters that began in the novel, The Summer Girls. This one deals with Dora, the oldest sister. She has tried to be the perfect Southern wife and mother and has lost her way. She unselfishly gives everything to her husband and son and loses her identity in the process. She doesn't think she matters any more. With a divorce on the horizon and her autistic son making even more demands on her life, she is indeed lost and confused.
Mary Alice Monroe, has mastered the art of reflecting the dispositions of her characters in the world that surrounds them. Dora has witnessed the injuries that happened to a dolphin caught in a net by dependence and trust in humans. Dora is "caught" in a loveless marriage and has a health problem called "broken heart syndrome" that could lead to worse health problems if she doesn't take care.
Another instance is when Dora stands in her old house that has to be sold for the divorce. It cannot be sold as it is, because Dora and her husband Cal have not taken care of it through the years. Dora likens herself to the old house, "Beneath her ever-present smile, she was crumbling." She compares their marriage to the house as well as she realizes "that no amount of effort on her part could save it."
Dora, who always is in control, must allow herself to depend on her sisters and grandmother and some special friends to help her through this time of healing and rediscovery. Again, the environment--this time the house of Sea Breezeβis the scene of hope and re-claimed happiness.
I loved THE SUMMER WIND because I am a fan of "second chance" or "make-over" stories. Dora is a beautiful person on the inside who has convinced herself that her outside self doesn't matter any more because she is older. She feels guilty for any time taken away from her many responsibilities and spent on herself. THE SUMMER WIND speaks to women "of a certain age" who feel that their dreams are no longer important.
I look forward to the third installment of the Lowcountry Summer series.
The Summer Wind is the second book in Monroeβs Lowcountry
Summer trilogy, following the New York Times bestselling The
Summer Girls. This series is a poignant and heartwarming
story of three half-sisters and their grandmother, who is
determined to help them rediscover their southern roots and
family bonds.
Itβs midsummer and Eudora, nicknamed Dora, is staying at Sea
Breeze, the familyβs ancestral home on Sullivanβs Island.
For years, Dora has played the role of the perfect wife and
mother in a loveless marriage. Now her husband filed for
divorce, her child is diagnosed with autism, and her house
is on the market. Doraβs facade collapses under the weight
of her grief and she suffers βbroken heart syndrome.β
Mamaw and the girls rally around Doraβbut itβs up to Dora to
heal herself as she spends the summer prowling the beach,
discovering the secrets of the island and her heart. This is
a summer of discovery for all the women of Sea Breeze.
Carson returns from Florida to face life-changing decisions,
Lucille confronts a health scare, and an unexpected visitor
has Harper reconsidering her lifeβs direction.
When tropical storm winds batter the island, the women must
band together and weather the tempestβboth the one outside
their windows and the raging sea of emotions within each of
them. They must learn again what it means to be a sister. It
is up to Mamaw to keep the light burning at Sea Breeze to
guide the girls through the lies, the threats, and the rocky
waters of indecision to home.
No excerpt available.
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