Debut author Lindsay Harrel presents a powerful story of healing, adventure, and learning how to live life to the fullest.
Megan Jacobs always wished for a different heart. Her entire childhood was spent in and out of hospitals, sitting on the sidelines while her twin sister, Crystal, played all the sports, got all the guys, and had all the fun. But even a heart transplant three years ago wasn't enough to propel Megan's life forward. She's still working as a library aide in her small Minnesota hometown and living with her parents, dreaming of the adventure she plans to take "once she's well enough". Meanwhile, her sister is a successful architect with a handsome husband and the perfect life - or so Megan thinks.
When her heart donor's parents give Megan their teenage daughter's journal - complete with an unfulfilled bucket list - Megan connects with the girl she meets between the pages and is inspired to venture out and check off each item. Caleb - a friend from her years in and out of the hospital - reenters her life and pushes her to find the courage to take the leap and begin her journey. She's thrown for a loop when Crystal offers to join her for reasons of her own, but she welcomes the company and the opportunity to mend their tenuous relationship.
As Megan and Crystal check items off the bucket list, Megan fights the fears that have been instilled in her after a lifetime of illness. She must choose between safety and adventure and learn to embrace the heart she's been given so that she can finally share it with the people she loves most
Eva and Angela must learn to live again. One step at a time.
It has been fifteen months since Eva and Angela lost their thrill-seeking husbands in a scuba diving accident. Both women are trying to navigate their way through the grief, but neither one is making much progress. Angela is barely making ends meet, angry at her husband for leaving her to raise three children on her own. Meanwhile, Eva is stuck, unable to move forward after losing the love of her life and her source of inspiration.
But then Eva gets a life-changing phone call. Before Brent and Wes died, they had signed up for a race of a lifetime-an ultra-marathon in beautiful New Zealand. Eva begs Angela to run the race with her in their husbands' place, and Angela finally agrees, hoping to finally understand her husband's choices.
Training is exhausting, and the race is even more demanding. Their journey grows more complicated by the presence of two men-Marc is Brent's best friend who is running the race with Eva and Angela, and Simon King is a writer who is covering their inspiring story. With every step, Eva and Angela must ask themselves questions that they haven't had the courage to ask before. As the women literally put one foot in front of the other, they wonder: Is it possible to find their way forward in hope?
Brought together by a charming bookstore in England, three women fight to defy expectations, dream new dreams, and welcome love into their lives.
As a counselor, Sophia Barrett is trained to help people cope with their burdens. But when she meets a new patient whose troubles mirror her own, she realizes she hasn't dealt with the pain of her recent past. After making a snap decision to get away for the summer, Sophia moves overseas to an apartment above a charming bookstore in Cornwall, England. She is hopeful she will find peace there surrounded by her favorite thing: great literature.
Bookstore owner Ginny Rose is desperate to save her business without asking for help from a husband who's decided to take a break from their marriage. Ginny never imagined she'd be solely responsible for keeping afloat her husband's dream, but the unexpected friendship with her new renter has her feeling more optimistic. Between the two of them-and Ginny's brother-in-law, William-the bookstore might stand a chance.
Then Sophia finds a notebook in the bookstore that contains journal entries from Emily Fairfax, a governess who lived in Cornwall more than 150 years ago. Sophia learns that Emily harbored a secret passion for becoming an authoress-as well as a deep love for her childhood friend, Edward, whose station she dared not dream to touch.
Eager to know more of Emily's story, Sophia goes on a quest-dragging Ginny and William with her-to discover the heart of the woman behind the beautiful entries. Soon Ginny's need to save the bookstore becomes more than a way to save her marriage, and Sophia finds new purpose of her own. Together they find that sometimes both heartache and hope can reach across the centuries.
