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Sea Escape: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.04) - 276 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Laura Martinez is wedged in the middle place, grappling with her busy life as a nurse, wife, and devoted mom to her two young children when her estranged mother, Helen, suffers a devastating stroke. In a desperate attempt to lure her mother into choosing life, Laura goes to Sea Escape, the pristine beach home that Helen took refuge in after the death of her beloved husband, Joseph. There, Laura hunts for the legendary love letters her father wrote to her mother when he served as a reporter for the Associated Press during wartime Vietnam.
Believing the beauty and sway of her father's words will have the power to heal, Laura reads the letters bedside to her mother, a woman who once spoke the language of fabric—of Peony Sky in Jade and Paradise Garden Sage—but who can't or won't speak to her now. As Laura delves deeper into her tangled family history, she becomes increasingly determined to save her mother. As each letter reveals a patchwork detail of her parents' marriage, she discovers a common thread: a secret that mother and daughter unknowingly share.
Weaving back and forth from Laura's story to her mother's, beginning in the idyllic 1950s with Helen's love affair with Joseph through the tumultuous Vietnam War period on to the present, Sea Escape takes a gratifying look at what women face in their everyday lives—the balancing act of raising capable and happy children and being accomplished and steadfast wives while still being gracious and good daughters. It is a story that opens the door to family secrets so gripping, you won't be able to put this book down until each is revealed.
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""A thoughtful and deeply moving but complicated love between mother and daughter from two different eras. The daughter uncovers the details of her parents' marriage, thru letters and between the spaces each line is written, and more secrets unspoken...and discovering a common thread of secrets mother and daughter unknowingly share. Characters you will despise and some you grow to love."
— Judy (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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Peopled with characters who are delightfully complicated and divinely flawed, Sea Escape becomes a novel of faith and resilience.
— Carol Cassella, author of the national bestseller Oxygen
Sea Escape Listener Reviews
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" Laura is in the sandwich generation--she's got two kids at home, a thriving nursing career, a loving husband, and a very difficult mother who shut down years ago when Laura's father died. When her mother has a massive stroke, Laura breaks her mother's long held demand for privacy by beginning to read to her the letters her father wrote to her mother years ago, describing their perfect love. Or at least that was always the story. As the letters unfold, a different tale of her parents lives and relationship emerges, and Laura finds she has more in common with her mother than she ever dreamed. "
— Jackie, 2/15/2014 -
" This novel is about family secrets and how they shape family dynamics. "
— Patricia, 2/13/2014 -
" Gosh, I thought this book was going to be an entertaining /easy beach read...but it surprised me and was better than I expected. I am giving it a 3.75 rating..... it had an unusual twist in the end and for that alone I want to give it a higher rating. Parent /child relationships my generation ! "
— Barb, 2/7/2014 -
" I enjoyed listening to the audio version and in general was thinking it was a pretty good read until the very, very end when I realized it was an extraordinary book. I was glad I was alone because I could not have stopped the tears. The end is so incredibly touching .... I know it will stay n my heart forever. "
— Jeanie, 2/4/2014 -
" Lynne Griffin is a friend of mine, so I am really looking forward to reading "Sea Escape." I loved her debut novel, "Life Without Summer", so I know this will be another quality read from an intelligent, thoughtful author. I enjoyed this novel. Lynne did a great job painting a portrait of a complicated mother/daughter relationship. "
— Jane, 1/27/2014 -
" A wonderful story about the relationship between a mother and her daughter. Real characters and a very realistic plot make the book move right along. I recommend this book to women, especially mothers and daughters. I can't wait for her next book! "
— Sue, 1/27/2014 -
" When I read the synopsis about a woman who starts her own sewing business and buys her dream home, I thought this might be a fun book to listen to. But the story doesn't focus on that aspect of Helen's life; instead, it is typical, formulaic, overly-descriptive chick-lit. Disappointment abounds for my dream of an inspiring story. "
— Judy, 1/26/2014 -
" slow paced. too much Laura angst. characters not very likable or interesting. Not much of a story. "
— Barbara, 1/20/2014 -
" Loved her first book, Life Without Summer, and she came through again with this one. LOVE "
— Nancy, 12/19/2013 -
" Ok Story of the love of family "
— Liz, 12/17/2013 -
" looking forward to her newest book! "
— Rita, 12/15/2013 -
" The protagonist's reactions to her situation didn't make a lot of sense to me. Outcome pretty predictable. "
— Mary, 12/5/2013 -
" This book had many similarities of my life this past year, so was really able to relate to it. I found it quite moving and well written. The characters were rich and full, and the bond between the mother and daughter was very real, and true. I would recommend this book most definately. Well done. "
— Joan, 12/1/2013 -
" A good mother/daughter story with other relationships woven in. "
— Julie, 9/7/2013 -
" I really enjoyed this book. Sea Escape is a moving, sentimental and complicated book that centers on mother/daughter relationships, fathers and sons and families as a whole. Just when you think you know all there is to know about your parents, turns out, you've barely touched the surface. "
— Paige, 4/22/2012 -
" Not worth the time.... mother-daughter relationship struggle...not well written "
— Sue, 2/29/2012 -
" A chick book totally...mother/daughter issues, brother/sister issues, family secrets, and a slue of letters from a dead father. Well crafted, nicely paced, past/present flipflop format. A 3.5 perhaps. "
— Laura, 2/20/2012 -
" A story of family secrets and the desire to present a perfect life to others and the ties that bind mothers and daughters. "
— Grace, 1/3/2012 -
" Another book that deserves an extra 1/2 star, to make it a 3 1/2 star book. Quick read with a good study of family relatons. "
— Diane, 11/12/2011 -
" Not nearly as good as her other book, but still a decent read "
— Ute, 6/19/2011 -
" I loved this book! It is a very touching story of the love between a mother and daughter. With a look into the past of love lost between a woman, her deceased husband and children lost. "
— Michelle, 5/27/2011 -
" A chick book totally...mother/daughter issues, brother/sister issues, family secrets, and a slue of letters from a dead father. Well crafted, nicely paced, past/present flipflop format. A 3.5 perhaps. "
— Laura, 3/11/2011 -
" Not nearly as good as her other book, but still a decent read "
— Ute, 1/31/2011 -
" slow paced. too much Laura angst. characters not very likable or interesting. Not much of a story. "
— Barbara, 1/23/2011 -
" Good book but way too sad about a mother and a daughter who comes to terms as the mother is trying to recover from a stroke. "
— Rosalie, 1/19/2011 -
" Once again, this is a book that mostly kept my interest, and I wanted the characters to matter more to me, but they just didn't. Could never get really involved. "
— Linda, 12/27/2010 -
" Another book that deserves an extra 1/2 star, to make it a 3 1/2 star book. Quick read with a good study of family relatons. "
— Diane, 11/20/2010 -
" great story about a mother and her daughter. have tissue ready : ) "
— Lyndi, 10/19/2010 -
" The protagonist's reactions to her situation didn't make a lot of sense to me. Outcome pretty predictable. "
— Mary, 9/26/2010 -
" Check out my blog for review.<br/><br/>Red Headed Book Child "
— Michelle, 8/16/2010 -
" A wonderful story about the relationship between a mother and her daughter. Real characters and a very realistic plot make the book move right along. I recommend this book to women, especially mothers and daughters. I can't wait for her next book! "
— Sue, 8/11/2010 -
" This novel is about family secrets and how they shape family dynamics. "
— Patricia, 8/9/2010 -
" A story of family secrets and the desire to present a perfect life to others and the ties that bind mothers and daughters. "
— Grace, 7/31/2010
About Lynne Griffin
Lynne Griffin, a nationally recognized family life expert, is the author of Life Without Summer and the nonfiction parenting title Negotiation Generation. She is a frequent radio and television guest and has written for national parenting and writing magazines. Griffin teaches at Wheelock College and Grub Street Writers. She lives with her family outside Boston.
About Tavia Gilbert
Tavia Gilbert is an acclaimed narrator of more than four hundred full-cast and multivoice audiobooks for virtually every publisher in the industry. Named the 2018 Voice of Choice by Booklist magazine, she is also winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has earned numerous Earphones Awards, a Voice Arts Award, and a Listen-Up Award. Audible.com has named her a Genre-Defining Narrator: Master of Memoir. In addition to voice acting, she is an accomplished producer, singer, and theater actor. She is also a producer, singer, photographer, and a writer, as well as the cofounder of a feminist publishing company, Animal Mineral.