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Distant Shores

A Novel

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Distant Shores

By: Kristin Hannah
Narrated by: Bernadette Quigley
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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The beloved author of The Women explores the heartbreaking choices facing a couple who have forgotten how to love each other.

“Hannah examines whether love and commitment are enough to sustain a marriage when two people who have put their individual dreams on ice get a chance to defrost them . . . in fast-moving prose punctuated by snappy asides.”—People

Elizabeth and Jackson Shore married young, raised two daughters, and weathered the storms of youth as they built a family. From a distance, their lives look picture perfect. But after the girls leave home, Jack and Elizabeth quietly drift apart. When Jack accepts a wonderful new job, Elizabeth puts her own needs aside to follow him across the country.

Then tragedy turns Elizabeth’s world upside down. In the aftermath, she questions everything about her life—her choices, her marriage, even her long-forgotten dreams. In a daring move that shocks her husband, friends, and daughters, she lets go of the woman she has become—and reaches out for the woman she wants to be.

© 2002 by Kristin Hannah. ℗ 2002 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

 Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Women's Fiction
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Critic reviews

“There are real-life lessons here told with truth, humor, and courage. You will love this story.”—Adriana Trigiani, author of Brava, Valentine

“Certain to strike a chord . . . winning characterizations . . . and a few surprises.”—The Seattle Times

“A compelling tale of true love . . . full of honest emotion.”—The Florida Times-Union
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I didn’t get on with the narration which did no favours for the book, however the power of the story meant that I endured the frustrating nuances of the narration. Persevere and you will enjoy.

Good storyline but narration not great

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This was an easy read without any major depth to it. I did enjoy it and would recommend it as such. Its nothing like the Nightingale by the same author. I would read other books by this author.

Average Read

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it was a bit predictably. Certainly as you got into it you knew exactly what was going to happen. Narration was skilled but the americain accents grated a bit.

OK

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I really, really enjoyed this book. I loved how it showed that you can rediscover who you are deep inside and invigorate your life without giving up your marriage or family. Elizabeth made mistakes in letting her family take over who she was and lost herself in the process, but she was able to reawaken herself without giving up her husband and daughters. My only real difficulty with this book was that Jack and Birdie didn't exactly have a "normal" family life, and while I'm sure many couples go through similar struggles, Jack's job and fame presented a lot of issues that other families wouldn't have to deal with. Plus, I'm really not a sports fan at all, and I found a lot of the aspects of his work to be pretty pretentious. Otherwise, I thought that the book was a very realistic presentation of what can happen to a couple once their children have left home and they realise that they've forgotten why they got married in the first place. I didn't find this at all depressing, as one might expect, since I'm getting married in five months. It didn't make me scared for what might come in twenty years time. Instead, it encouraged me to pursue my hobbies and talents and not let them get pushed aside. I wouldn't ever want to end up like Birdie, married for twenty-four years yet having no idea of who she is. I could see from Jack and Birdie's experiences that it's important to have a balance in marriage and in supporting each other's dreams. A very thought-provoking book. This was my first Kristin Hannah novel and I imagine that it'll stay with me for a while. I'll be reading more from her.

On the narration: The narrator managed to give each character distinct voices without being over-the-top , and I'm not sure how they managed it, but at certain parts of the recording the audio company used affects to make it sound like someone was talking down a telephone line or shouting from a different room. It definitely brought the characters of this novel to life. Highly recommended

Very thought-provoking

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The story was quite good but the narrator’s drawl was very irritating and rather depressing.

Story of love and family values.

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