Shem Creek (Lowcountry Tales (Paperback))

by Dorothea Benton Frank (Author)

• New

  Paperback
  2006

  $17.09

  Pat Conroy has called her books hilarious and wise, noting that they are funny, sexy and usually damp with sea water. Anne Rivers Siddons said of Sullivans Island that it roared with life. Now Dorothea Benton Frank takes us back to the Lowcountry to introduce a whole new cast of characters whose lives will surely move your heart.Linda Breland has no experience managing a restaurant, but then neither did Brad Jackson, and he owns the place.Meet Linda Breland, single parent of two teenage daughters. The oldest, Lindsey, who always held her younger sister in check, is leaving for college. And Gracie, her Tasmanian devil, is giving her nightmares. Linda s personal life? Well, between the married men, the cold New Jersey winters, her pinched wallet and her ex-husband who marries a beautiful, successful woman ten years younger than she is let s just say, Linda has seen enough to fill a thousand pages.As the story opens, she is barreling down Interstate 95, bound for Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, the land of her ancestors. Welcomed by the generous heart of her advice dispensing sister, Mimi, Linda and her daughters slowly begin to find their way and discover a sweeter rhythm of life.And then there s Brad Jackson, a former investment banker of Atlanta, Georgia who hires her to run his restaurant on Shem Creek. Like everyone else, Brad s got a story of his own namely an almost ex-wife, Loretta who is the kind of gal who gives women a bad name.The real protagonist of this story is the Lowcountry itself. The magical waters of Shem Creek, the abundant wildlife and the astounding power of nature give this tiny corner of the planet its infallible reputation as a place for introspection, contemplation and healing.As in all her previous work, you ll find Shem Creek to be compulsively readable, irreverent but warm and blazingly authentic and you ll dread reaching the last page. It is her vivid writing, colorful characters and rich narrative that have made Dorothea Benton Frank one of our nation s greatest storytellers. Shem Creek is a triumphant novel that proves we are all entitled to a second chance. The challenge is to learn how to recognize it when it comes and to know which chance to take.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2005

  $4.50

  Linda Breland is the single parent of two teenage daughters. The oldest, Lindsey, is just about to leave for college; and Gracie, her youngest, is giving her nightmares. Between the cold New York winters, Linda's dating drought, financial problems and an ex-husband who has married a beautiful, successful woman ten years younger than she is, Linda has reached the end of her tether even before she discovers birth control pills in Gracie's school bag. So when she is offered the chance to move back to her home town, Linda grabs it. She is welcomed by her generous sister Mimi, who dispenses good advice along with an endless supply of cookies, cake and lessons in how to be a lady. Meanwhile, Linda, despite her lack of experience, convinces local restaurateur, Brad Jackson, to give her a job managing the Shem Creek Caf. Ignoring Gracie's protests at her enforced uprooting, Linda begins to hope that the Deep South and Mimi's good influence will work their magic on her rebellious daughter. And that maybe she too can find a better life, one in which she won't be rushing around fulfilling everyone's needs but her own.