A simple phone call disrupts Nell Williams’s well-ordered life. Her mother, Mary, is in a hospital in Vermont. But her mother is supposed to be safely tucked away in an assisted-living facility in Massachusetts, so Nell can’t fathom why she would be so far from home.After notifying her sister, Bridget, Nell hops on a plane and rushes to her mother’s side. There, she discovers that her mother has … discovers that her mother has been living a second life. Mary has another home and a set of complex relationships with people her daughters have never met.
When Nell and Bridget delve deeper into their mother’s lakeside hideaway, they uncover a vault of family secrets and the gateway to change for all three women.
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I did not want this book to end. It was wonderful!
A simple phone call disrupts Nell Williams’s well-ordered life. Her mother, Mary, is in a hospital in Vermont. But her mother is supposed to be safely tucked away in an assisted-living facility in Massachusetts, so Nell can’t fathom why she would be so far from home.
After notifying her sister, Bridget, Nell hops on a plane and rushes to her mother’s side. There, she discovers that her mother has been living a second life. Mary has another home and a set of complex relationships with people her daughters have never met.
When Nell and Bridget delve deeper into their mother’s lakeside hideaway, they uncover a vault of family secrets and the gateway to change for all three women.
Based on the intro, I thought the story would be going in another direction. Not that I didn’t like the way the story did go, I just thought it would be different. Can’t even say I was disappointed because the story was ok, I liked it. It just wasn’t what I thought it was going to be when I chose to read it.
I was captivated by author Gail Cleare’s storytelling in “The Taste of Air”, and much of it resonated strongly with me as a reader. While I lived with my own mother for almost fifty years, and I knew her better than anyone else possibly could, there was still much about her life that I will never know. We often forget that our parents are people, that they are human and make human mistakes, and none of us are perfect. “The Taste of Air” is a compelling reminder that none of us know how we would react when faced with some of the choices our parents had to make. The comfort of Nell Williams’s neatly-organized life is left behind when a phone call changes her reality forever. Not only is her mother, Mary, not in a care facility in Massachusetts as expected, she is hospitalized in Hartland, Vermont, a town unknown to Nell and her sister, Bridget. Upon their arrival in Vermont, they discover their mother’s “other life”, complete with a cottage home and a set of local friends. As more and more secrets about their mother and family are revealed, the sisters are forced to examine their own lives. While nothing will ever be the same, will long-held hopes and dreams find a way to come true? Author Gail Cleare has created a compelling portrait of three memorable women and the unique bond that exists between mothers and daughters—and the varied emotions in the relationships of sisters with each other.
Book Copy Received Gratis Via Author—Opinions Are Strictly My Own Observances
The secrets of families that bring together a family. Very enjoyable read.
Two daughters discover their mother’s hidden past when she becomes ill far from home.
Great book, a comforting book. Really enjoyed it. Usually don’t like books that jump from different peoples point of view but Gail
Cleare make it work. This was my first book by Gail but will be looking for more.
Good read all the way around that held my interest
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It’s on my list to save and read again.
Was a really good story
I really enjoyed this book! I recommend without hesitation!
I loved the character development and couldn’t wait to find out why they did what they did. Fascinating story about choices , forks in the road, and understanding.
Just couldn’t put it down! Lots of twists and turns.
Nell is whiny and unlikable and the story is repetitive and drags. Start on Chapter 28 and it gets interesting.
This was a nice summer read! A daughter receives a call that her mom is in a hospital in another state …a problem as Nell thought her mom was safely home in bed.
Nell goes to Vermont to discover her mom in ICU with pneumonia. Bridget, her sister is called to help out Nell……as they discover that mom had a whole other life, a house, car and even a dog. The question is how did mom do this and keep it a secret from her own daughters.
The novel goes into the past and looks at their mom’s life as a nurse during the war , meeting her husband to be, and the secrets she kept and is still keeping. You’ll meet the neighbor Jake and his son and hear about his dead wife Ginnie and their closeness to Ellie (Bridget and Nell’s mom) You’ll enjoy the sisterly bond and the way they each change over time as they try and figure Ellie out.
It’s a book about perceptions, you see your parents one way and then with age/time you see them as people with their own lives/wishes. And you enjoy the time at the house they never knew existed…fresh air, small town, lakes, walks, and peace. Enjoy.
Liked the characters, these were easy to relate to. Cute and different plot about the need to escape from life from the perceptive of three different women. I would have given it a higher rating but I knew what was going to happen before it did but still worth your time. I would definitely recommend it to women with some experience in life.
The story of is told from the perspective of two sisters and their mother. The book starts off slowly with one of the sisters, who is a stay at home mom with two kids and a husband who doesn’t appreciate her, narrating. That type of character has been done a million times and the author didn’t add anything to it at first. I was going to stop reading but once the narrative switched to the second sister and then the mother, things got more interesting. I ended up enjoying the book very much although the ending was a little too neat. I’d still recommend it for the way it shows how our mother’s had lives before we came along and those lives often had heartbreak and love and secrets.
Great Surprise after surprise
Enjoyed it thoroughly!
Excellent book!