THE LAST BEACH BUNGALOW
by Jennie Nash
A lyrical first novel from Nash (Raising a Reader: A Mother’s Tale of Desperation and Deceit, 2003, etc.) about a breast-cancer survivor searching for a home.
As freelance writer April Newton reaches the five-year mark with a clean bill of health, she should be relieved and feeling optimistic, but something is missing. Her husband Rick, a contractor, is building her a spectacular glass-and-stone house overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He sees it as a fortress to protect her, but for April the house is haunted by coldness and despair. Shortly before moving day, April falls in love with a small Craftsman-style bungalow near the beach, the last cottage on a street now rebuilt with glass boxes and mansions. When she learns that the elderly owner will sell the house for a pittance to a family “with heart” that promises to preserve and protect it, April pulls out the stops to get the place—leaving her builder husband feeling betrayed. The author illustrates, through telling detail, the small ways that breast cancer causes a woman’s world to shift, and April’s writing career is deftly incorporated to reflect the challenges faced during recovery. The book’s resolution is a reminder that healing doesn't always come from getting what you want.
A sensitive novel that will appeal to many women and resonate with cancer survivors.