From the Lake House
A Mother's Odyssey of Loss and Love
by Kristen Rademacher
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Pub Date Jul 21 2020 | Archive Date Jul 20 2020
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Description
Dizzy with grief after a shattering breakup, Kristen did what any sensible thirty-nine-year-old woman would do: she fled, abandoning her well-ordered life in metropolitan Boston and impulsively relocating to a college town in North Carolina to start anew with a freshly divorced southerner.
Dismissing the neon signs that flashed Rebound Relationship, Kristen was charmed by the host of contrasts with her new beau. He loved hunting and country music, she loved yoga and NPR; he worried about nothing, she worried about everything. The luster of her new romance and small-town lifestyle soon—and predictably—faded, but by then a pregnancy test stick had lit up. As Kristen’s belly grew, so did her concern about the bond with her partner—and so did a fierce love for her unborn child. Ready or not, she was about to become a mother. And then, tragedy struck.
Poignant and insightful, From the Lake House explores the echoes of rash decisions and ill-fated relationships, the barren and disorienting days an aching mother faces without her baby, and the mysterious healing that can take root while rebuilding a life gutted from loss.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
“A poignant and painful remembrance with comforting messages for the grieving.”— Kirkus Reviews
"Kristen Rademacher’s achingly honest memoir about her losses of place, partner, and much-anticipated baby daughter Carly resonates with courage and an abiding gratitude for the preciousness of life. A truly tender reflection about loss that illuminates the devastating experience of baby loss.”—Janel Atlas, Writer and Editor of They were Still Born: Personal Stories about Stillbirth
“Written with tender honesty and luscious language, From the Lake House is a joy to read, even amidst the pangs of heartache and loss.”—Alexis Marie Chute, award-winning author of Expecting Sunshine: A Journey of Grief, Healing, and Pregnancy After Loss
“In this beautifully written and poignant memoir, we learn that though people and dreams die, relationships don't. If we're attuned, the dead can transform our lives, offering enduring love and guidance—and hope.”—Carol Henderson, author of Losing Malcolm: A Mother's Journey Through Loss and Farther Along: The Writing Journey of Thirteen Bereaved Mothers
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781631528668 |
| PRICE | $16.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 256 |
Featured Reviews
Cristie U, Bookseller
The author perfectly captures the decisions that some women make when experiencing heartbreak. The honesty from the author about her decision to move to another state for a man and starting over, along with the red flags that spelled REBOUND RELATIONSHIP in her head and how tragedy changes her life yet again. This was a book that felt like fiction, but it was the author's real life experience. I really enjoyed this one.
Bee L, Reviewer
An absolutely powerful memoir about a mother's love and the quiet pain of women.
I read this one in one sitting and then immediately had to go back and re-read the parts that resonated with me the most. For me, the parts where Rademacher talked about her experiences with loss and coming through her depression were the most moving.
Rademacher was affected by the terror attacks of 9/11, not only because of the great loss of human life but because of a personal loss she suffered on the same day. The attacks caused Rademacher's long term boyfriend to rethink his life, and he decided to break up with her. Adrift and by completely by herself, Rademacher found that she had to rethink her own life in order to figure out what she intended to do next. She decided to go visit her brother in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where the pace of life is slower and she would be able to think, plan and rejuvenate.
Very quickly, she fell into another relationship with a man who was almost entirely her opposite. Jason was a gun-loving, conservative, country boy whom Rademacher found charming despite their differences. She soon became pregnant and was elated to be creating new life. However, she was overdue and had to make an appointment to induce labor. Shortly before she was supposed to be induced, Rademacher discovered that her daughter would be stillborn and that she had to go through the traumatizing experience of giving birth to a child that she would not get to bring home. Of course, after the birth Rademacher went through a host of mental health issues that plagued her for many years.
Writing about the birth of her child and the emotional pain and depression that she went through afterward, Rademacher truly shines. I sympathized with her pain so much that when I finished the book I felt deeply changed by reading it. I highly recommend this chronicle of heartache and inner strength. Be sure to have a box of tissue nearby when you read it, I cried buckets. I already know that I'm going to remember it for a long time to come.
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General Fiction (Adult), Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction
