Winter Garden

by Kristin Hannah

would show the world how strong and powerful women could be, as well as the personal cost of that strength.

memories pass back and forth like dye in water, moving and fluid, and when they pull back and look at each other, Vera understands.

You couldn’t control the direction of your family any more than you could stop the continental shelf from breaking apart. All you could do was hold on for the ride.

And maybe that was how it was supposed to be, how life unfolded when you lived it long enough. Joy and sadness were part of the package; the trick, perhaps, was to let yourself feel all of it, but to hold on to the joy just a little more tightly because you never knew when a strong heart could just give out.