Made for You and Me by Caitlin Shetterly

 

Subtitle: Going West, Going Broke, Finding Home

This book is about leaving a place you know and love to go spread your wings and expand yourself and your career. Unfortunately this happened just as the bubble burst. 

Things started out great in California and they were living the dream, loving work and loving life. She gets pregnant, which they are very excited about. But then the bubble bursts and work starts drying up. Everyone is struggling and everything that they had worked for was slowly disappearing. The hard decision was made to travel back across the country, back to family and familiarity.

When the bubble burst we all knew that people suffered and lost everything. This is a very candid recounting of what happened to them, their successes and their struggles. I feel that it was told very honestly and truthfully. I think it will help anyone who questions struggle and people really trying, pulling out all of the stops, and still needing to 'go back home'. Very well written and portrayed.

  

The Cross-Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini

 

This is part of a series but they seem to be able to be read independently without too much confusion.

This takes place around five women who have gone to quilt camp in hopes of escaping some of their troubles and get lost in fabric and patterns.  Troubled divorces, aging, children in difficult relationships, job challenges. Things that you would want to escape and each woman was able to help each other in their own way. 

Gatherings were planned and friendships were made that would last a lifetime. They all let each other take their time processing things and making decisions. They were friends that became family and supported each other without question.  A wonderful book and a wonderful series. 

The Sea Gate by Jane Johnson

 

After Rebecca's mother dies she is going through things in the apartment and finds letters from a cousin she knows nothing about and seems to be in need of some immediate help. Rebecca has nothing else going on so she goes to check this out.

This story takes place between current times and WWII. Olivia, Rebecca's cousin, is an old crochety woman with a very colorful past. She had many struggles during the war and that created many secrets.

Rebecca had her own battles that she was struggling with and through the process of meeting Olivia, working on the old house, and meeting new people that reawakened in her her self confidence a wonderful story unfolds.

I love historic fiction and learning about things that people went through during rough times in the past. There is so much we don't know and so many times we don't realize how good we have it. This was a wonderful story to get lost in, fall in love with characters, and to remember how strong and resilient we all are.