Pieces of the Heart

by Karen White

Book Overview

In lyrical and evocative prose, the New York Times bestselling author of the Tradd Street novels takes the scattered pieces of a life and weaves them into a tale of hope... Caroline Collier is a woman bogged down in the harsh realities of a life barely lived. Stress from her all-consuming job as an accountant has given her panic attacks, forcing her to take a leave of absence from work. And though her chances of relaxing in the presence of her overbearing,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451217675
• ISBN13: 9780451217677
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Funny and sad

The book was funny and sad. Very much enjoy the writing of Karen White.

Pieces of the Heart

Wonderful book. Having been raised in a small town, it was very easy to relate to the characters and the situation. By the end they seemed like the family next door.

Finding a new author

I have just started reading Karen White books and am thrilled to say she is just wonderful. Each book has been filled with great characterizations and fabulous stories. As I read each book I find myself saying "WOW where have you been all my life??" The stories AND the people are so real...I am crying and laughing and thinking and wanting! I wouldn't hesitate to buy any book of hers and I sure will not hesitate to read them again and again. Thanks Karen White!

Once again, Karen White has taken me away...

Once again, Karen White has taken me away to the perfect lake house - in her last book, "The Color of Light" I immediately called my travel agent and booked a beach house for the summer (in the middle of January). Now I want to rent a lake house! Karen is such a talented writer that I believe all of the characters are my friends and that I am actually in the story. I couldn't put the book down. Now that I'm finished, I can't wait until the next book!

terrific insightful character study

Thirty-one years old Atlanta accountant Caroline Collier has not lived only existed in thirteen years since the death of her beloved younger brother Jude. She has the scar on her chest to remind her of what he donated to her when he died at the accident that almost killed her too. Now she is staying with her overbearing mother Margaret at the family vacation cottage at Lake Ophelia in the North Carolina mountains while she recovers from recent panic attacks caused by stress on the job and failures to gain closure from Jude's death and her father's desertion. Next door is former attorney turned master furniture maker Drew Reed and his teenage daughter Jewel. His late wife Shelby Ann was actually Jude's significant other before the teen died. Jewel and her Granny Rainy begin to get Caroline to quilt and swim while Drew finds himself attracted to the girl next door who when she is not scowling is pretty. Though the trio and Margaret reach out to her, Caroline needs to let go of the past if she wants to live life to the fullest with people who love her. This is a terrific insightful character study that focuses on several individuals struggling differently with the deaths of loved ones. Caroline who has not completed the five phases of grief is time-locked in the grieving stage mostly because she was there and in his death he saved her life. Her mother cannot stop fussing while her father fled to the West Coast and like Drew and an injured loon reinvented his life. Granny turned to her granddaughter and Jewel cherishes her late mother's diary as her survival mechanism. Fans of a deep poignant family drama will appreciate this powerful look at how people deal with the death of a loved one. Harriet Klausner