Where the River Ends
by Charles Martin
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Book Summary Information
Author: Charles MartinEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-07-15
ISBN: 0767926986
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Broadway
Book Reviews of Where the River Ends
Book Review: Engaging, wildly descriptive, hopeful
Summary: 5 Stars
If I Just Breathe
I'm a sucker for a good love story, and if it has to deal with cancer, I am there. For me, and I think this is true for many cancer survivors, we just want to read stories about people who have been in our shoes, who "get" us. Especially if we have a rare cancer and don't have much contact with people who share our experiences in the real world. But I digress. Let's get back to the book.
It's the story of love, loyalty, loss, and adventure told through the eyes of Doss Michaels. Doss is married to Abigail Grace Eliot Coleman, a debutante, socialite, international supermodel, and daughter of a South Carolina senator. Doss, a struggling painter, rescues Abigail from an attack in a park one late night, and when she visits his studio to thank him, a relationship ensues, much to the dismay of her father.
While the pairing of Doss and Abigail - poor boy from the other side of the tracks meets rich girl from powerful family - might seem predictable, this story is anything but. With Doss, Abbie shortens the two first names that evidently is common in Charleston to better reflect her down-to-earth style, and encourages him in his painting, helping him gain portrait contracts for the Charleston elite. After marrying in secrecy at city hall, they travel across Europe for a full year to explore the meccas of the art world - The Louvre in Paris, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Neues Palais in Potsdam - all the while Abbie serving as his tour guide, explaining the works and helping him to better understand all different artistic media. Helping him become the artist she knew he could be.
Despite their socioeconomic differences, and the fact that Abbie's father was against their relationship from the start, their marriage thrived, until Abbie's diagnosis of advanced cancer at age 36, ten years into their marriage. This is where the story really struck home for me as a young cancer survivor.
Abbie's cancer was advanced at the onset, and the treatments did not help. Abbie and Doss soon came to accept the possibility that their time together was now very limited. Abbie writes a list of things she wants to do before she dies, `Bucket List' style. Early on in their marriage, Doss had promised Abbie a canoe trip down the St. Mary's River, where he had grown up. When Abbie's health takes a turn for the worse, they pack supplies and leave in the middle of the night to embark on their adventure.
Maybe this is something I will never understand, because I have not been in this situation (and hope not to be for a long time), but at first I didn't get why this trip was so important to Abbie at that stage in her life. I personally might have chosen to spend the last of my days in a warm bed surrounded by friends and family, not in a wet canoe on a cold river swarming with mosquitoes. And I mean, a lot of mosquitoes (one scene, where Doss encounters a huge swarm of them had me squirming in my bed sheets). But Abbie and Doss had spent a weekend before an accelerated cancer treatment on the river, and she exclaimed that it was her favorite place in the world, so it makes sense that she might want to return there one last time.
With his highly descriptive writing style, Charles Martin takes us on a journey with Doss and Abbie - through their love story and to a place, the St. Mary's River (running the border of Georgia and Florida) that we otherwise would probably never experience. The River is almost a third main character. We really get to know her - her twists and turns, her peace and fury, her ugliness and beauty.
I cried a lot while reading this story. But I'm glad I read it all the same. In my opinion, the mark of a well written piece is one that makes you feel, and this one certainly did. The characters were believable, and the story was touching on so many levels. Take this commentary from Doss, which speaks so well to anyone who has experienced any kind of cancer:
"It's strange. I know my wife has cancer because they told me, but I've never actually seen it. Never touched it. I don't have any real connection to it other than it's killing my wife.
Cancer hurts beyond the pain. It is a cycle of diagnosis, prognosis, and scan. We live not paycheck to paycheck, but scan to scan. Every time we stand in the doctor's office and hear the scan results, we think, It's getting bigger and I can't do a single thing about it.
If there is one plus, it is this: For someone with cancer, life is more real. They feel more. It's like having the senses of a blind and deaf man and yet you can see and hear just fine."
I loved this story. It was sad, yes, but not depressing. If I could change anything about the book, I would probably add more "Abbie" to the trip. We learn a lot about her personality before the trip ensues, but while on the river, the book focuses more on Doss, with Abbie just along for the ride. That aside, with it's universal themes, it was a great read that I would recommend to anyone.
Summary of Where the River Ends
A powerfully emotional and beautifully written story of heartbreaking loss and undying love
He was a fishing guide and struggling artist from a south George trailer park. She was the beautiful only child of South Carolina?s most powerful senator. Yet once Doss Michaels and Abigail Grace Coleman met by accident, they each felt they?d found their true soul mate.
Ten years into their marriage, when Abbie faces a life-threatening illness, Doss battles it with her every step of the way. And when she makes a list of ten things she hopes to accomplish before she loses the fight for good, Doss is there, too, supporting her and making everything possible. Together they steal away in the middle of the night to embark upon a 130-mile trip down the St. Mary?s River?a voyage Doss promised Abbie in the early days of their courtship.
Where the River Ends chronicles their love-filled, tragedy-tinged journey and a bond that transcends all.
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