Winter Garden - Discussion 1

"God help me," she said softly, feeling alone even with Jeff right beside her.  She'd never known before how profoundly a single decision could separate you from other people. "Okay." pg.111

So many times while reading this book, I felt raw.  So many emotions and so many that were held back and need to be pushed through.

Kristin Hannah definitely has a way with words.  The heartbreak seeps through the pages.  I do not know how Meredith and Nina survived their childhood with a parent so emotionally off.  Like, why did the woman reproduce?  Why aren't Mere and Nina in constant therapy???

I feel for Mere but she does need to break.  You can only take on so much and keep trucking and doing it everything for so long until you reach the point of enough.

Everyone needs a break.  Even if you won't be able stop crying, the release does a body good.

1. How do you think the peasant and prince fairy tale ends? If you finished, what were your guesses?

2. Will Nina stay or go?

3.What do you think Mere and Jeff need to do to save their relationship? Is it worth saving?

4. Meredith and Nina are both reluctant to let the men in their lives help them through a difficult time, yet both are suffering from the grief caused by the death of their father. Do you think this is something they’ve inherited from their mother? In what other ways are they similar to their mother? Do you think it’s impossible to avoid becoming like the people who raised you?

5. This novel explores a complicated and strained relationship between two sisters. Do you think Meredith is justified in being so angry with Nina? In what ways are the sisters different and in what ways are they alike?

Thanks for participating! Next/final discussion will be on April 27th!

True Colors by Kristin Hannah

Goodreads.com Description: The Grey sisters had only each other when their mother died years ago. Their father provided for them physically on Water's Edge, the ranch that had been in their family for three generations, each of them however, longed for their father's love.

Winona, the oldest, knew early on that she could never get it. An overweight dreamer and reader, she didn't exhibit the kinds of talents and strengths her father valued.

Vivi Anne, the youngest, had those things. And it was Vivi Anne who only ever saw a glimmer of their father's approval.

When Vivi Anne makes a fateful decision to follow her heart, rather than take the route of a dutiful daughter, events are set in motion that will test the love and loyalties of the Grey sisters.

With breathtaking pace and penetrating insight, Kristin Hannah's True Colors is a novel about sisters, vengeance, rivalry, betrayal-and ultimately, what it truly means to be a family.

A co-worker let me borrow this book over the weekend and I read it quickly because I wanted to get it back to her before school break. I was not really impressed. The writing seemed sub-par and some of the storyline unbelievable. Let's just say if Henry Grey was my father, we wouldn't be speaking anymore and I sure as heck wouldn't be living in the same town as him!!

There is a LOT of family drama in this one and a lot of it could be stopped with some honesty and some getting over yourself and not letting sibling rivalry get waaaay out of control.

It was a very quick read and perfect for a rainy day but coming right after Firefly Lane, this just did not seem as good.

Anyone else read it? Have you ever been disappointed when you read an author's other work after liking what you've already read by them? I hope that made sense!! ;)