The Life Intended
By Kristin Harmel
- Release Date: 2014-12-30
- Genre: Fiction & Literature
Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau and The Paris Daughter comes a novel that's Sliding Doors meets P.S. I Love You. A woman who lost her husband twelve years ago is ready to move on, but her subconscious won't let her. Is she just dreaming of her late husband—or slipping through to the life she should have had?
“An affecting tale about finding happiness amid grief and guilt.” —Booklist
Twelve years ago, newlywed Kate Waithman had it all—until the day her husband, Patrick, the love of her life, was killed in a car accident.
More than a decade later, Kate has found happiness as a music therapist and has finally fallen in love again with a kind man named Dan. Life should be perfect, except that on the night she and Dan get engaged, Kate begins having jarringly realistic dreams in which Patrick is still alive—and he and Kate have a daughter. The dreams feel so vivid, so right, that Kate has to wonder: Is Patrick trying to tell her something
Attempting to navigate between dreams and reality, Kate must uncover her husband’s hidden message. Her quest leads her to a sign language class and into the New York City foster system, where she finds rewards greater than she could have imagined—and learns that even in loss, love never really leaves, but waits to guide us exactly where we need to be.
Reviews
The Life Intended
5By Tiggy/CookieMy first book by this author and I couldn’t stand putting it down. I even dreaded finishing it. I haven’t felt that way about a book in a good while. The love story was beautiful, their catch phrase touched my heart, their future 😢. Is there an HEA ? In many ways, yes. I can’t recommend this special story enough. A book I could see myself reading again.Excellent book
5By Left handed girlThis author has an excellent grasp of love and emotion. The many forms and personalities.A Really Good Read!
5By Nicholsons3I loved this book and I love this author! Her other books are good tooAn incredibly special book...
5By Laurie_Oh_TLGSometimes a book falls into your lap that is so completely unexpected that it knocks you off your axis and resets the way you are reading. The Life Intended was just that that kind of book for me. This book took me on an emotional ride right along with Kate as she processed the meanings of the dreams and their impacts on her life. I really didn’t expect to this book love this book as much as I did. It’s funny, when I first got my copy; my plan was to wait to read it. But it's pull was too strong. In a down moment at work, I was curious and opened it to take a quick peek and maybe read the first couple of pages. Well, a couple of pages became chapters, then the entire book and that was all she wrote. I was finished by midnight. This story was just so compelling and well-written. It wasn’t just about the emotions for me, but also the level of detail and information that was included. That this book was truly a labor of love for Kristin Harmel shines through every page, which made me love and appreciate The Life Intended that much more. That The Life Intended stole my heart is an understatement. I could completely relate to Kate -- I mean who hasn’t wanted that chance to find the connection with someone you have lost? I didn’t have to suspend my disbelief because it felt very real to me as well. I loved Kate and the lengths she went in order to not only understand her dreams, but to not only accept them, but make them come true. Kate stood strong in the face of family and friends who thought she might have finally lost her mind. In this, we see her no longer living as ghost herself, but making a difference in the world at large. This book says something else -- that grief is a funny animal. It's not a 24-hour bug that will pass out of your system and be gone. Nope, it's living, breathing thing that has a mind of its own and needs to be given an outlet to be understood. That is something which is wonderfully portrayed here. The Life Intended is a very special book -- it is so worth the investment of your time and reading dollars. That I am in love with this book, is an understatement. I picked up again after reading it a month ago and still feel a very strong connection to the story and the characters. It is that powerful and I really think you will enjoy it.
