When Light Breaks (33 page)

He sang of loving and knowing at the edge of the sea, of loving and losing in that meeting place. Jack’s words in Jimmy’s voice combined with Maeve’s story until I stood, and wondered if Jack had found the reasons.

After a lingering flute solo, Jimmy sang the final words. “The reasons have only to do with love. Only love.”

The crowd went wild; I clapped so hard my palms stung. I know the audience cheered for Jimmy’s deep, lush voice singing with the haunting melody, but I rejoiced at the words, the lyrics of a man who still believed.

I glanced down at the stage; the band gave way for the main act. Jack came out, glanced into the audience, squinted and raised his hand over his eyes. I waved frantically in a futile attempt to make him see me all the way in the back row against the stone wall. He jumped off the stage, wound his way among the tables to the left of the theater—opposite from where I stood.

I pushed my way through the crowd to the other side of the stage. “Excuse me, excuse me. . . .” I kept my eyes on Jack, knocking over coolers, beer bottles, chicken salad on paper plates as I hurried toward him.

Then he looked up, and saw me. A smile so wide and accepting spread across his face. His strides were long, deliberate as he stepped over blankets, between people. He reached me at the back right side at the last row of chairs; I ran into his open arms, buried my head against his chest. “Jack, I love you.”

He lifted my chin, placed his palms on either side of my face and drew me to him. He kissed me as I’d dreamed of since that first realization of love beyond family. The kind of kiss I’d wanted and needed all my life; a kiss filled with truth.

Then he pulled back from me, smiled again, and I touched his face. “I’m sorry about what I said, I’m sorry for being such an idiot,” I said.

He shook his head. “No apologies. You’re here.”

“If I ever thought I loved anyone else, it was only because he reminded me of you.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “My beautiful Kara—you know exactly what to say to make a man weak, doncha?” He picked me up, swung me around, then kissed me again.

“Do I?” I looked out over the amphitheater to the bay and almost swore I saw three brown sails, a sloped boat coming around the bend.

He nodded, then touched my face as the lead singer began to sing behind us: “I get weak in the knees, and I lose my breath....”

Jack grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the side stage. “Follow me.”

“Always,” I said, and did.

a cognizant original v5 release october 08 2010

CONVERSATION GUIDE

PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY

 

 

 

This Conversation Guide is intended to enrich the
individual reading experience, as well as encourage us
to explore these topics together—because books,
and life, are meant for sharing.

Q. What inspired you to write
When Light Breaks
?

 

A. I am fascinated by the power of story to change lives. I wanted to write a novel in which one woman’s story moves another woman in a positive direction. I believe that our minds communicate through reason and intellect, but the heart communicates through story. If Kara were to change her life, it would never be by logic alone, since the reasons for her life decisions are sure and strong. But through story, and its effect on her heart, she gains new insights, which help her take her life in new directions.

 

Q. The idea of one generation passing on its stories to another generation lies at the heart of this novel. Why is that theme important to you?

 

A. In today’s world, the different generations are separated much more than in previous generations, since we tend not to live together. Yet the wisdom and wit passed from one generation to another are what help tie families together. Kara lost her mama at a young age, and she yearns for the mother-daughter connection, the wise advice that comes from experience. Although Kara doesn’t understand it at first, Maeve’s words fill a need in her. I believe we must learn from previous generations, from those who have gone before us in this life journey.

 

Q. There’s a strong Irish element in the novel—of Irish poetry and politics, story and myth. Can you comment on this choice?

 

A. The Irish culture is incredibly rich in myth and legend. My daughter is an Irish dancer, I am Irish, and the culture fascinates me. I wanted to delve deeper into the idea that a story or legend holds truth, although it might not be factually true, and how, either way, this affects the listener or reader.

Through centuries of conquest and persecution, the Irish have held steadfastly to their unique heritage and storytelling. The Gaelic word for storyteller is
seanachie
, and these individuals are highly revered. One of the many themes in Irish legend is the presence of the sacred in ordinary daily life, and this is what I wanted to convey to, and for, Kara through an Irish storyteller.

 

Q. Water plays an important symbolic role in the novel. Would you say a few words about the various ways you use water, and what it means to you?

 

A. Water is symbolic in numerous and varied ways depending on culture and interpretation. In this novel, water suggests Kara’s internal struggle. Rivers represent the linear aspect of time; water is where reflection—literal and figurative—occurs for Kara. The reliability of tidal and oceanic movements represents security for Kara in an unsure world, where people have left her. The fog and mist are in-between states for Kara, places where she is confused. Places near water are where she is quiet enough to hear “the hints of her heart.” Water surrounds the place where she lives and therefore represents more than one thing for her: time, security, movement, change, new life and, of course, personal reflection.

 

Q. There’s also a lot of angel imagery—Kara and Jack make “sand angels” on the beach; Kara finds a stone angel with a missing wing and then, at the end of the novel, its unbroken mate; Kara is sometimes described as looking like an angel. What is the significance of this image for you?

 

A. Kara has an open, aching, missing place in her heart since she lost her mama at such a young age. She is constantly searching—even when she doesn’t know it—for some authentic way to fill that loss. I wanted the reader to understand that there is something going on—beyond Kara’s everyday, rational and busy world—that is influencing her life, moving her toward fulfillment and authenticity. I wanted to hint at the sacred in Kara’s life under the influence of Maeve Mahoney.

 

Q. Once again, you set your novel in the Lowcountry off the coast of South Carolina, in the fictional town of Palmetto Pointe. It’s a place where Southern tradition is juxtaposed against nouveau wealth, where Kara’s brother chooses to live in a simple, old beach house while her fiancé’s mother lives in a huge, heavily designed new home. Describe the tensions between old and new that you see being played out in the Lowcountry today.

 

A. The area is lush in both nature and history, in spirit and beauty, and therefore new construction will always be a concern. The push and pull between conservation and development will be an ongoing battle as more people discover and fall in love with the area. Fortunately, those who love and live in the Lowcountry are doing all they can to safeguard their natural world.

 

Q. Your work has been compared to the work of other writers who set their stories in the Lowcountry, such as Pat Conroy, Anne Rivers Siddons and Mary Alice Monroe. Why do you think the comparisons have been made?

 

A. I am humbled and grateful to be compared to such outstanding writers. They are masters at crafting sentences rich in description and meaning. I can only hope that the comparisons arise from the deeper, shared truths we each explore in our novels.

 

Q. As you travel around the South to promote your books, what has most surprised you about reader and bookseller response to your work?

 

A. I am constantly surprised and thrilled to hear how my books have touched the hearts of readers. As writers, we are often isolated in our work, stumbling through the creation of our novels, so it is satisfying and exciting to hear that others have read and loved my novels, that my work has been worth the strenuous daily effort.

 

Q. You have now published three novels in three years. When and why did you first start writing? Has it turned into more of a job or chore than something you are inspired to do?

 

A. I wrote my first books when I could first hold a crayon. I’d write a story, design and paint the cover using my box of pastels, then staple it together to make a “book.” Somewhere during the hectic pace and distractions of high school, college, and my expectations for a degree and a real job, I let go of my desire to write books.

Then, fast forward years later when I had a six-year-old towheaded little girl. I was playing dollhouse with her when I asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” She looked up at me with the big blue eyes she got from her daddy and said, “Oh, I’ll be the writer of books.” Something inside me woke up and whispered, “That’s what I want to do when I grow up.”

That conversation with my daughter was the start of a journey I’m still on. Writing has become a job for me, but never a chore. Writing has enriched my life in so many ways. It has brought treasured friendships, new experiences, and a wider, fuller life. I’ve had to make choices, and in the more hectic times—such as when I’m facing a deadline—I do have to say “no” to things I would have done before I started writing. Yes, the work can be exhausting and frustrating, but it is still something I love and desire to do daily. I am grateful, every day, for the chance to have my work published and read.

1. What do you think the title means?

2. Maeve asks Kara to consider whether she would live her life differently if she knew her first love would return to her. Was there a first love in your own life, someone you waited for? Would you live your life differently if you knew that he (or she) would return for you?

3. Kara learns that her mother hoped her children would “listen to the hints of their hearts.” In your own life, are you listening to the hints of your heart? Do you agree that it’s important to do so?

4. Maeve tells Kara: “All our lives we must choose between what others define us to be and what we were meant to be.” Is that struggle being played out in your own life? Do you see it in the lives of family and friends?

5. Kara and Jack have an intense romance at very young ages—not quite fourteen—yet during the novel they discover that all these years later, their feelings for each other have endured. Do you think that children and/or young teenagers are capable of mature and sustainable romantic relationships?

6. Both Kara and Jack suffer as children from brokenness within their homes—Kara through her mother’s death and Jack through his father’s alcoholism. Discuss how those losses influence their relationship, both as teenagers and as adults.

7. Deirdre was fifteen years old and Kara just nine when their mother died. Discuss how the difference in their ages affected their experience of their mother’s death. How do you think Kara’s relationship with her sister will change in the future?

8. Why does Kara’s father, Porter, decide not to reveal to his children their mother’s dying wish that they “listen to the hints of their hearts”? Do you agree or disagree with his decision?

9. Although Maeve feels compelled to share her life story with Kara, she also asks Kara for help in answering one last question—what finally happened to Richard? Why do you think Maeve needs to know?

10. Maeve tells Kara, “Be careful what you believe.” What do you think this means and how do you think it affects Kara’s life and decisions? How does what you believe affect your own life and decisions?

11. Describe the lives of each of the characters in the novel six months after it ends. What do you imagine will happen to them?