From love to hate and back again

Summer Island by Kristin Hannah is a work of fiction about Nora Bridge. A woman who lives in Seattle and has become a "Dr. Laura-type" on a radio show that has become a syndicated hit. She calls the show, "Spiritual Healing with Nora." She also writes a weekly newspaper advice column called "Nora Knows Best" that is published in 2,600 newspapers across the country. Her fans love her and her life is great. She lives in a posh penthouse in the trendy area of Seattle known as Belltown.

Life isn't so perfect outside of her career though. Nora has 2 daughters, one of whom she hasn't spoken to in 10 years. Her oldest daughter Caroline is married and has 2 daughters of her own, but Nora's youngest daughter, Ruby, has never married. She has refused to speak to Nora, she hates her. During Caroline and Ruby's childhood lie had been good. Then one day Nora came into the living room with her suitcase and announced she was leaving; did anyone want to go with her. Once Ruby was beyond the initial hurt, she turned that hurt into hate and has never forgiven her mother for leaving.

Ruby lives in California and is a struggling comedian, always waiting for the phone call that will make her a star.

Nora is at work preparing herself for what she thinks will be a surprise party for her 50th birthday. She had been told to be in the conference room at 5:00 and she assumed it was a party for her. She was surprised alright; it was the stations owner and manager who had devastating news for Nora. When they told her who they'd received a call from, she felt like she'd been kicked in the stomach. Her past had come back to haunt her and this could and likely would ruin her career.

An infidelity in Nora's past. Something that she always tells her callers to avoid at all costs. Now her fans would find out that she wasn't the same person she had professed to be.

So distraught Nora was over this news, she got drunk and got into a bad car accident. While she is in the hospital, her daughter Caroline calls Ruby. Ruby had received a phone call just a short time before. Her agent said that some tabloid would offer her $50,000 for a tell-all article about her mother's life. Ruby is excited about that. She agrees to write the article and receives her down payment of $25,000.

But now Caroline is on the phone telling Ruby of their Mother's accident and that Ruby needs to come to Seattle, no matter how she feels about Nora. Ruby finally agrees, begrudgingly. She doesn't know what she will say or how to act, as she feels she has hated this woman for the last 10 years of her life. On top of that she is writing this article for the tabloid!

When Ruby arrives, Nora is ready to go to Summer Island to recuperate. Summer Island is in the San Juans island on the Washington Coast. A ferry ride away from Seattle. This is where the Bridge family had their home while the girls were growing up. This is where Ruby had the love of her life, Dean. There were too many painful memories for Ruby and she just didn't think she could handle this. But she went.

The first few days there is a lot of tension. Nora is in a wheelchair and Ruby does what she can to help her, but she keeps her distance emotionally. Nora tries to talk, but Ruby isn't very interested. She goes to her room and writes more about her mother for the article she is being paid to write.

After several days on the island, Ruby decides to pay her father a visit. She had always felt sorry for her father after Nora left those many years before. But during this conversation Ruby's father decided to tell Ruby why Nora had left. Ruby's world begins to spin. Here she had thought she hated Nora for leaving, now she finds out WHY Nora left. How could Ruby hate her now? And what about this article she is being paid $50,000 to write?

When Ruby goes back to the house, she doesn't quite know what to say. Over the next several days she and her mother have some very cleansing conversations. And in ruby's next entry into her notebook she writes, "I dreamed. I imagined. I saw myself on Letterman and Leno, a witty, charming guest plugging her own skyrocketing career. I never noticed that I'd be standing on my mother's broken back to reach the microphone..."

Ruby also gets in touch with Dean, her childhood sweetheart. There is healing that needs to be done there as well.

This book was interesting, but it didn't hold my attention for very long at a time. I was a little tired of the spoiled brat Ruby and got somewhat tired of the sappy conversations between Ruby and Nora. I did like that the author is from the greater Seattle area and there were places she mentioned that I was very familiar with.

I am going to say that I recommend this book, but it wasn't really one I would gush about. At all.