Distant Shores

I think I've given 5 stars to almost all of Hannah's books, and this is no exception. For this book, I felt like a peeping Tom, sticking my nose into the most intimate moments of a marriage. No not the stuff in the bedroom. The stuff where they try to decide if they could stay together. Realistic, hot stuff.

For those who've had rough patches in their marriage, here's a wise tale you should read. Almost everyone married long enough, at one point or another, has wondered if separation or divorce would be the answer to their troubles. I think Hannah does an excellent job of covering what that might look like without the reader actually having to end their own relationship to find out.

Elizabeth and Jackson Shore have seemed to have survived everything life could throw at them. Raising daughters, job loss, frequent moves, death of family members. But what might be visible to those outside the marriage isn't what's really transpiring inside.

Jackson has dreams of making it big again. Elizabeth believes it's now “her turn” to direct where they live and how. They both have valid points, but those points send them in opposite directions. Away from each other.

Elizabeth longs to “find herself” again after years of putting everyone else's needs first. Jackson is trying to recreate his youth. We, the reader, go along for this journey of discovering whether they can live more happily apart than together. It's well worth taking the trip.