Peter and Jackie were high school sweethearts. Everyone thought they were destined to marry, but Peter was having second thoughts. He planned to end it until he was involved in an incident that changed the course of his life and their relationship. Although they later marry and have been married for more than thirty years, Peter has kept his secret until he finally tells Jackie.
As the story opens Peter and Jackie are in their seventies. He has just published his first novel which is a reason to celebrate, but Jackie has just had a cancer diagnosis and the prognosis isn’t good.
This is a story of choices and living with the results. Peter and Jackie didn’t have the perfect marriage, but they stayed together and now they’re facing an ending. The story moves back a forth between their past and the present decisions they have to make.
Peter is the primary narrator, and I have to admit I didn’t like him. I thought he was too self-centered. I had trouble warming up to Jackie also. She seemed depressed and remote, but perhaps that was intentional as a result of her diagnosis. The book starts slowly, but it picks up in the middle as we get to know the characters better and the crisis points become obvious.
I thought the author did a good job delving into the lives to two people who made a choice to be together and stuck it out even if they might not have been the right people for each other.
I received this book from Gallery Books for this review.
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