Halfway to You

Publisher's description:

"An ambitious podcaster and her reclusive interviewee embark on a life-altering journey to uncover long-lost truths in this immersive story about love, travel, and family secrets.

Forty years ago, aspiring writer Ann Fawkes left the United States for a Mediterranean adventure that opened her heart to travel and love. After a chance encounter propelled her into the publishing world, she released her first novel, an instant bestseller—and the last book she ever wrote.

Now, Ann lives a reclusive life in the San Juan Islands, hiding from the public and its probing questions. But when podcaster Maggie Whitaker convinces Ann to sit for an interview, Ann agrees on one condition: Maggie must keep her story off the record.

Determined to change Ann’s mind before she loses her job, Maggie agrees. But as she learns about Ann’s life—particularly the love affair that inspired her novel and the decisions she made in its wake—Maggie realizes Ann’s story intersects with her own in shocking, life-changing ways.

A sweeping, heart-wrenching novel that spans decades and continents, Halfway to You explores the distances we create between ourselves and the ones we love most and what it takes to finally bridge them."

I read this book simultaneously with Swan Light, and while they were quite different, they both contained mysteries that kept me riveted. I think that Halfway to You could have been edited down a hundred pages; there was a point where the story seemed repetitive - where the characters kept making the same mistakes of silence. But perhaps author Jenifer Gold was reminding us that that's the way life goes; sometimes it takes us many tries to gather our courage, and communicate clearly:

“When it came to Todd, I never learned. I could never quite reach him. I was always halfway there, trying desperately to close the distance.”

Both novels took place in misty, gray environments - Swan Light on the coast of Newfoundland, and Halfway to You in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington state (also Italy), which kept me in a pensive, coffee-laden, stormy state while reading; these were cozy reads indeed!

Have a great bookish weekend!! Gaili

Paperback 413 pages, Audiobook 14 hours