Welcome to the Still Waters Tour!
Still Waters by Lindsey P. Brackett
When her beloved grandmother requests one last summer at Still Waters, the family cottage on Edisto Beach, Cora Anne returns to a place that haunts her with loss and tempts her with forgiveness.
Peace means reconciling her family and her Edisto memories. But acceptance may mean loving the man determined to preserve a past she’d rather forget.
My Review
When I saw that this book was about a girl and her grandma, I knew it was one I wanted to read. I didn’t realize just how much I’d love it. I was always a grandma’s girl, so books about girls and their grandmas are for me.
Cora Anne doesn’t have the best relationship with her family. They’ve been through a lot, and a lot of what Cora Anne went through happened at Still Waters. She only goes because she feels like she doesn’t have much choice. Her Nan asked for her help, so she can’t turn her down. What Cora Anne doesn’t expect is Tennessee Watson being there as her Nan’s handyman no less. Tennessee Watson brings back a lot of bad memories for Cora Anne because the bad thing that happened at Still Waters affected his family too. Cora Anne expects Tennessee to hate her, but when she arrives she finds the complete opposite.
Cora Anne has a difficult time being at Still Waters and accepting that she wasn’t at fault for what happened so many years ago. Since she can’t forgive herself, she can’t see how others have forgiven her. What she doesn’t realize is that how she remembers the event, isn’t exactly what happened. She’s spent years hurting. Will she accept forgiveness and forgive herself?
I adore this book. It is wonderfully written and tells the story beautifully. The characters are so real with real hurts and issues. I love the lowcountry setting, and how you can feel the atmosphere surround you as you read. I highly recommend this book that you won’t be able to put down!
10 Behind the Scenes Facts about Still Waters
- My grandparents actually met on a back road in Colleton County in the 1940’s. She was lost and he was bundling pine straw to sell. So that story inside the story is true.
- McConkey’s Jungle Shack—and they’re not kidding about the shack part—really does have the best fish tacos on the coast.
- Late in the book I reference a story about soldiers mistaking a loggerhead turtle for an enemy when the beach was being used as a lookout during WWII. This really happened and you can read about it in Nell Graydon’s Tales of Edisto, which I used for both reference and inspiration.
- We drive a blue minivan and it’s kind of well-known because the paint job was bad (thanks Honda) and we’ve never spend the money to fix it. So my best friend begged me to put the blue van in the story. It’s there, when Cora Anne and Nan stop at King’s Market, complete with a passel of kids. (I have four of those.)
- King’s Market has the best key lime pie. For real.
- My cousin Heather and I were born 18 hours apart, and our moms are sisters. Yes, she inspired Hannah. We spent (and still do sometimes) many weeks on Edisto with her family growing up. Our favorite thing was to hunt for sharks teeth and snail shells so we could make necklaces with our grandmother.
- The book is set in 2006 because I wanted a time period before social media’s invasion and before BiLo bought out the Piggly Wiggly. Edistonians are not coming around. They still call their only grocery store The Pig.
- The Edisto Island Open Land Trust is a gem I stumbled upon while researching what made the most sense for Tennessee’s philanthropic spirit. The EIOLT was the perfect fit since it’s all about preservation of the Island’s natural beauty, while empowering home owners to still be able to afford family property that’s been passed down for generations. The executive director, John, drank coffee with me one morning at the Edisto Coffee Shop and told me so much valuable information.
- Botany Bay (and that’s the Botany sentinel tree on my cover) was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Edisto took the brunt of the storm’s hit and the eye passed over the island. The entire first row of houses were left standing in water since the beach was pushed inland. But the community there is strong and resilient. They’ve been rebuilding and regrouping. The beaches will never look the same, but as my mama says, “That’s nature. And life. Storms come and you have to deal with the aftermath.” Or, as Tennessee puts it in the story, “Sometimes a storm’s what clears out the junk…”
- Edisto Beach still has a video store, probably the last one left in the country. It’s also one of two places in the town to get ice cream—unless you’re sitting on your own porch enjoying the ocean breeze and listening for the churn to slow down.
Lindsey P. Brackett
Award-winning writer Lindsey P. Brackett once taught middle grades literature, but now she writes her own works in the midst of motherhood. A blogger since 2010, she has published articles and short stories in a variety of print and online publications including Thriving Family, Country Extra, HomeLife, Northeast Georgia Living, Splickety Prime, Splickety Love, and Southern Writers Magazine Best Short Fiction 2015. Lindsey serves as Editor of Web Content for the Splickety Publishing Group, and she writes a popular column for several North Georgia newspapers.
As a mother of four chaotic kids, her home is always full of wet towels, lost library books, and strong coffee. Her love of family ties and southern places prompted her debut novel, Still Waters, inspired by her own love of Edisto summers and peach ice cream. Connect with her at http://www.lindseypbrackett.com.
Giveaway
Check out the rest of the tour
September 14–Beyond the Lake
September 15–Christian Bookaholic
September 16–Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations
September 17–
September 18–Soulfully Romantic
September 19–Reading Is My SuperPower
September 20–Singing Librarian Books
September 21–Remembrancy
September 22–Reader’s Cozy Corner
September 23–
September 24–Christy’s Cozy Corners
September 25–
September 26–Pause for Tales
Thank you Christy!