Moon Over Edisto

 

About The Book:  The past has come knocking on Julia's door. Can she summon the courage to answer betrayal with love?  Julia’s best friend, Marney, broke up her parents' marriage years ago. Now Marney shows up at her Manhattan apartment, asking the impossible—come home to Edisto Island to care for the half-sisters and half-brother she has never known. Marney, recently widowed, has lung cancer. There's no other family to care for the children while she’s in the hospital following surgery.  Julia loathes Marney. But if she doesn’t step in, her own mother—who has never gotten over the divorce—will be called upon to take care of the children. So she heads to South Carolina to keep the peace.  On Edisto, she begins to reconnect with the place and the people and she’s been running from her whole adult life. There’s the local doctor who once stole a kiss from her on that very beach, and the siblings she’s never known—especially the sister with selective mutism named Etta who’s the keeper of nearly every family secret . . . including the very one that just might bind-up Julia’s long-since shattered heart.

About The Author:  Beth Webb Hart, a Southy Carolina native, is the best-selling author of Grace at Low Tide and The Wedding Machine.  She serves as a speaker and creative writing instructor at schools, libraries, and churches throughout the region, and she has received two national teaching awards from Scholastic, Inc.  Hart lives with her husband and their family in Charleston.





My Thoughts On The Book:  I have traveled many times throughout the Charleston region and it tugs at my heart every time I am there.  As a child I used to dream I was a true Charlestonian, but alas.  Edisto Island has always been one of my favorite get-aways.  There is something extremely magical there.  The story line drew you right in as Beth Webb Hart's books usually do.  From the beginning of the book I found myself emotionally attached to the characters.  I loved the way this story unfolded as a tale of forgiveness and letting go of the past.  God is portrayed as the omnipotent one he is giving Julia what her heart desires even though she is not really aware that she wants it. At one point in the story Julia thinks Marney is destroying her life  for a second time only to realize she is about to make a huge mistake in marrying Simon and that Marney is actually giving  her what she truly desires and needs in her life...children and Edisto.  I could not put this book down and as the story drew to a close I found myself hoping this would be a series.  There was so much I still needed to know about Etta, Meg, Mary Ellen, Charlie, Jed and their lives on Edisto Island.  What an amazing book by a truly wonderful wordsmith!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishing Booksneeze Program for bloggers. I was not required to write a positive review. All they asked for was an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

On Being Southern....or God Bless the Northerners

Early this morning I was checking in on facebook, something I have not been really good about doing since school started, when I found the greatest video I have ever seen.  I love Bill Cosby, his Noah skit and his skit on Dad fixing breakfast are my two most favorite....but this one kills them all.  I was born in South Florida....technically it is the southern most part of the South.....but it is not really a southern state....nope.  I grew up with northerners....I thought I was one....and sounds like someone from the midwest because of it.  My neighbors were from places like Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Cuba, Ohio, Queens, the Bronx and upstate New York.  My parents were from Alabama....but after living with other dialects for so long....and having a good linguistic ear....I sound like a man without a country.  Several years ago, I studied Cervantes in Washington State and the staff and fellow students were disappointed when I should up with no southern drawl....sigh!  Sorry guys.  I live in the South now and love the sound of the lilt a true southern drawl makes.  It is such a syrupy sound...and really pretty.....BUT...that leads me to my post today.  I lived in a town called Alexander City....and a government plane crashed here several years ago....and who did they interview????  You guessed it...a man with very few teeth that sounded like a bad rendition of Ray Stevens and the man in the Streak!  It never fails....when news happens in the South....those are the people who make national news.  Why?????  There are plenty of highly educated people here....where are THEY when major disasters happen????  No wonder northerners find southerners so amusing.  Well....this morning as I was checking facebook out....there it was...two video clips by Bill Cosby....and bless his humorous heart...he was trying so hard to understand the lady from North, South Carolina.  It was a scream...so I figured I would give you a good laugh to kick off your Friday...and your holiday weekend! I hope you enjoy them.  Have a Fabulous Friday!