Читать книгу Recipe For Redemption - Anna J. Stewart - Страница 4

I’m a believer in the butterfly effect—those ripples that occur with the simple beating of wings. Sometimes it’s a person who gives us a gift we didn’t know we needed.

My cousins Ron and Colleen lived a short drive away from my family. They had three children, all older than me and their house was always filled with the enthusiasm of living each day to its fullest. It was there that I first heard the words of Shakespeare. To listen to Ron utter the beautiful intricacies of language (he was an actor and Shakespeare professor) with clarity and affection touched my heart. He was one of my biggest cheerleaders and, in recent years, as his heath declined due to Parkinson’s, he carried one of my books with him in his walker, showing it off at his care facility. I’ve joked it was the best book tour I could have ever gone on. But it’s the truth.

With Recipe for Redemption, I knew Abby Manning would be struggling: her historic inn on the brink of ruin, the town’s survival, finding where she belonged in the world and coming face-to-face with a hero who would push her emotional buttons. But then Abby’s grandmother Alice (named for Ron’s mother) arrived on the page fighting a battle of her own: the same battle Ron fought and, unfortunately, lost this past summer. Another butterfly effect? I think so.

Family connections, whether by blood or choice, are at the heart of Butterfly Harbor. How different my own life would have been without Ron quoting Shakespeare to me, or lending an encouraging ear when I needed it most. Just as Abby’s grandmother and her friends do for Abby. Community, connections. Is there anything more important?

Anna J.