Set in coastal Maine, “a novel rich in drama and insights into what factors bring people together and, just as fatefully, tear them apart” (Portland Press Herald).
In this compelling novel set against the beautiful backdrop of Ogunquit, Maine, bestselling author Holly Chamberlin portrays an unexpected friendship, and its consequences for two very different women as time inevitably sweeps them into adulthood . . .
Over the course of one eventful summer, nine-year-old native Mainer Delphine Crandall and Maggie Weldon, a privileged girl “from away, ” become best friends. Despite the social gulf between them, their bond is strengthened during vacations spent rambling around Ogunquit’s beaches and quiet country lanes, and lasts throughout their college years in Boston. It seems nothing can separate them, yet after graduation, Delphine and Maggie slowly drift in different directions . . .
With her MBA, Maggie acquires a lucrative career, and eventually marries. Delphine is drawn back home, her life steeped in family and the Maine community she loves. Twenty years pass, until one summer, Maggie announces she’s returning to Ogunquit to pay an extended visit. And for the first time, the friends are drawn to reflect on their choices and compromises, the girls they were and the women they’ve become, the promises kept and broken—and the deep, lasting ties that even time can never quite wash away . . .
“Nostalgia over real-life friendships lost and regained pulls readers into the story.” —
USA Today
“A great summer read.” —
Fresh Fiction
About the author
Holly Chamberlin was born and raised in New York City. After earning a Master’s degree in English Literature from New York University and working as an editor in the publishing industry for ten years, she moved to Boston, married and became a freelance editor and writer. She and her husband now live in downtown Portland, Maine, in a restored mid-nineteenth-century brick townhouse with Betty, the most athletic, beautiful and intelligent cat in the world. Readers can visit her website at: www.hollychamberlin.com.