The Shadow Between Us by Carol Mason

☆☆☆☆☆
Kindle Edition, 262 Pages
Expected publication: March 21st 2019 by Lake Union Publishing - Amazon Publishing UK
About the Book:
What is it about the coast that attracts people running from their past? Maybe there’s something in a sea breeze that blows away your problems. Maybe when you look out at the ocean you can see the future; forget the secrets and pain holding you back. Or at least you can forget them for a time. When Olivia moves to Port Townsend, her marriage is floundering, and her life is in pieces. She doesn’t know if things with her husband Mark are truly over, or quite why the phone call she longs for on her daughter’s birthday will never come. Joining a letter-writing club seems like a harmless decision. But when she meets Ned, an ex-soldier badly wounded in Afghanistan, this unlooked-for friendship revives unexpected emotions and memories she’d rather forget. Can Olivia find the courage to confront what she’s hiding from and finally begin to heal the wounds that have torn her life apart? From the bestselling author of After You Left comes a story about finding hope in second chances.

Sometimes it’s easier to pretend everything’s fine than admit differently. But the problem is it becomes habit-forming until it’s our new reality. Then we’re really just living a lie.

I LOVED The Last Time We Met so when I saw this was available, on Netgalley, I just HAD to have it. I am so glad the request came through because this is a book not to be missed. Carol Mason has once again given me a reason to love Women's Fiction with her wonderful prose. The book and story line were brilliant. As I progressed through the story, I kept wondering, where is this taking me, I was intrigued and captivated by Olivia's choices, her tenacity, her courage and strength.

Carol Mason deftly explores how a person survives the unbearable--and the portrait is both moving and empathetic. Besides the main narrative thread the supporting characters add depth and breadth to this sprawling narrative, including an estranged husband who is neither villain nor hero, an imperfect but loyal friend, a nurturing but sometimes aloof boss who is lovingly portrayed in all her imperfect humanity. Ms. Mason takes the reader on a difficult journey into grief, but her graceful writing and clear empathy makes this a worthwhile exploration of what it means to suffer.

Mason does an amazing job of portraying how one moves forward when their life has essentially frozen in time. Olivia lives this paradox every day. This is a story about the power of human resilience in the face of tragedy. Survival can look vastly different depending upon the person. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read and I will look eagerly for more books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, Amazon Publishing UK and Carol Mason for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

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