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WHERE WE BELONG
WHERE WE BELONG
BY EMILY GIFFIN
READ BY ORLAGH CASSIDY
ABOUT THE BOOK:
The author of five blockbuster novels, Emily Giffin, delivers an unforgettable story of two women, the families that make them who they are, and the longing, loyalty and love that binds them together.
Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six year old television producer, living her dream in New York City. With a fulfilling career and satisfying relationship, she has convinced everyone, including herself, that her life is just as she wants it to be. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door . . . only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had sealed off forever. From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian’s perfectly constructed world—and her very identity—will be shaken to its core, resurrecting ghosts and memories of a passionate young love affair that threaten everything that has come to define her.
For the precocious and determined Kirby, the encounter will spur a process of discovery that ushers her across the threshold of adulthood, forcing her to re-evaluate her family and future in a wise and bittersweet light. As the two women embark on a journey to find the one thing missing in their lives, each will come to recognize that where we belong is often where we least expect to find ourselves—a place that we may have willed ourselves to forget, but that the heart remembers forever.
AN EXCERPT FROM WHERE WE BELONG:
marian
I know what they say about secrets. I’ve heard it all. That they can haunt and govern you. That they can poison relationships and divide families. That in the end, only the truth will set you free. Maybe that’s the case for some people and some secrets. But I truly believed I was the exception to such portents, and never once breathed the smallest mention of my nearly two-decade-long secret to anyone. Not to my closest friends in my most intoxicated moments or to my boyfriend, Peter, in our most intimate ones. My father knew nothing of it—and I didn’t even discuss it with my mother, the only person who was there when it all happened, almost as if we took an unspoken vow of silence, willing ourselves to let go, move on. I never forgot, not for a single day, yet I was also convinced that sometimes, the past really was the past.
I should have known better. I should have taken those words to heart—the ones that started it all on that sweltering night so long ago: You can run but you can’t hide.
* * *
But those words, that night, my secret, are the farthest things from my mind as Peter and I stroll down Bleecker Street following a lingering dinner at Lupa, one of our favorite restaurants in the city. After several stops and starts, winter seems over for good, and the balmy spring night is made warmer by the bottle of Barolo Peter ordered. It’s one of the many things I admire about him—his fine taste coupled with his firm belief that life is too short for unexceptional wine. Unexceptional anything really. He is too kind and hardworking to be considered a snob, shunning his lazy trust fund acquaintances who accomplished “nothing on their own,” but he’s certainly an elitist, having always traveled in prep school, power circles. I’m not uncomfortable in that world—but had always existed on the fringe of it before Peter brought me into his vortex of jet shares, yachts, and vacation homes in Nantucket and St. Bart’s.
I know what they say about secrets. I’ve heard it all. That they can haunt and govern you. That they can poison relationships and divide families. That in the end, only the truth will set you free. Maybe that’s the case for some people and some secrets. But I truly believed I was the exception to such portents, and never once breathed the smallest mention of my nearly two-decade-long secret to anyone. Not to my closest friends in my most intoxicated moments or to my boyfriend, Peter, in our most intimate ones. My father knew nothing of it—and I didn’t even discuss it with my mother, the only person who was there when it all happened, almost as if we took an unspoken vow of silence, willing ourselves to let go, move on. I never forgot, not for a single day, yet I was also convinced that sometimes, the past really was the past.
I should have known better. I should have taken those words to heart—the ones that started it all on that sweltering night so long ago: You can run but you can’t hide.
* * *
But those words, that night, my secret, are the farthest things from my mind as Peter and I stroll down Bleecker Street following a lingering dinner at Lupa, one of our favorite restaurants in the city. After several stops and starts, winter seems over for good, and the balmy spring night is made warmer by the bottle of Barolo Peter ordered. It’s one of the many things I admire about him—his fine taste coupled with his firm belief that life is too short for unexceptional wine. Unexceptional anything really. He is too kind and hardworking to be considered a snob, shunning his lazy trust fund acquaintances who accomplished “nothing on their own,” but he’s certainly an elitist, having always traveled in prep school, power circles. I’m not uncomfortable in that world—but had always existed on the fringe of it before Peter brought me into his vortex of jet shares, yachts, and vacation homes in Nantucket and St. Bart’s.
To finish reading this excerpt, visit the Macmillan website HERE. You can also go HERE on the website to download an audio excerpt using an MP3 player download.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Emily Giffin is the author of Something Borrowed, her smash-hit debut novel that was made into a major motion picture. She is also the author of Something Blue, Baby Proof, Love the One You’re With, and Heart of the Matter. Giffin is a graduate of Wake Forest University and the University of Virginia School of Law. After practicing litigation at a Manhattan firm for several years, she moved to London to write full time. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and children.
Visit Emily Giffin's website HERE to find out much more about her.
ABOUT THE NARRATOR:
Narrator ORLAGH CASSIDY is the winner of the 2011 Best Voice in Mystery & Suspense and the 2009 Best Voice in Children & Family Listening. She's narrated for Jacqueline Winspear, James Patterson, Erica Spindler, and Frank Herbert among others. She also has extensive Broadway, television, and movie experience.
MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:
Emily Giffin’s WHERE WE BELONG is a delight! I normally like her books but I loved this one! It grabbed me from the start and didn’t let go. The main selling point for me was the authentic characters that Giffin created in such a compassionate way that you really felt like you knew them. They were genuine, supportive people who you cared about. The narrative moved along so smoothly and I believe it was because it was so true to real-life situations.
One of the two main characters is Marian Caldwell. She is the head writer of a popular sit-com and lives a good life in her penthouse in Manhattan. Her love interest is the head of the television network and an amiable character. Peter is drawn as one might expect complete with good lucks, charm, as well as a bit shy of commitment. However, when the second protagonist comes along, the story quickly takes a turn and things move quickly.
Kirby appears on Marian’s doorstep one night and now at eighteen is looking for her birth mother. It doesn’t take long for the story that Marian is Kirby’s mother, and how and why she gave her up for adoption, to be explained. The way all of this affects both Marian and Kirby is so well delivered using alternating chapters written by each of the two characters.
How Marian and Kirby get along and where they go from here is what the story is all about. How their new relationship changes so much for both of them is logical and realistic. Supporting characters, like Kirby’s adoptive parents and sister as well as the birth father, make for many twists and turns that draw you in as you wait to see what happens. WHERE WE BELONG will surely capture your attention as the compassion and courage of this mother and daughter speaks to readers. How the story finally ends is not as one might think but I found it to be spot on and well conceived.
One of the two main characters is Marian Caldwell. She is the head writer of a popular sit-com and lives a good life in her penthouse in Manhattan. Her love interest is the head of the television network and an amiable character. Peter is drawn as one might expect complete with good lucks, charm, as well as a bit shy of commitment. However, when the second protagonist comes along, the story quickly takes a turn and things move quickly.
Kirby appears on Marian’s doorstep one night and now at eighteen is looking for her birth mother. It doesn’t take long for the story that Marian is Kirby’s mother, and how and why she gave her up for adoption, to be explained. The way all of this affects both Marian and Kirby is so well delivered using alternating chapters written by each of the two characters.
How Marian and Kirby get along and where they go from here is what the story is all about. How their new relationship changes so much for both of them is logical and realistic. Supporting characters, like Kirby’s adoptive parents and sister as well as the birth father, make for many twists and turns that draw you in as you wait to see what happens. WHERE WE BELONG will surely capture your attention as the compassion and courage of this mother and daughter speaks to readers. How the story finally ends is not as one might think but I found it to be spot on and well conceived.
GIVEAWAY
THANKS TO ESTHER AND MY FRIENDS ATMACMILLAN AUDIO, I HAVE ONE COPY OF
WHERE WE BELONG BY EMILY GIFFIN,
TO GIVE AWAY TO ONE LUCKY FOLLOWER
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES, PLEASE
--INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS IN COMMENT
--ALL ENTRIES/COMMENTS MUST BE
SEPARATE IN ORDER TO COUNT
AS MORE THAN ONE ENTRY
HOW TO ENTER:--NO P. O. BOXES, PLEASE
--INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS IN COMMENT
--ALL ENTRIES/COMMENTS MUST BE
SEPARATE IN ORDER TO COUNT
AS MORE THAN ONE ENTRY
+1 ENTRY: READ ABOUT THE AUDIO BOOK ABOVE AND COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT WHERE WE BELONG THAT WOULD MAKE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS AUDIO BOOK
+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY
+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING AT EMILY GIFFIN'S WEBSITE HERE
+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE CURRENT GIVEAWAY OF MINE YOU HAVE ENTERED. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, COMMENT SEPARATELY FOR EACH AND YOU WILL GET AN ENTRY FOR EACH ONE
+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU CAN COMMENT SEPARATELY AND EACH WILL COUNT AS AN ENTRY
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