A Watershed Year: A Novel [Paperback]

Susan Schoenberger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2011

A woman in the midst of heartbreak finds renewed purpose in her life when she decides to adopt a young boy from Russia in this powerful and triumphant debut novel.

Two months after the death of her best friend Harlan, Lucy remains haunted by the things she never told him including her deep love for him. Then she begins receiving emails he'd arranged to be sent after his death, emails that will change the course of her life. One email in particular haunts her -- he tells her he is certain she is destined for motherhood. Thus begins her watershed year.

It is said that out of despair comes hope and in her grief, Lucy finds that the possibility of adopting a child offers her a new chance for a fulfilled life. When she travels to Russia to meet four-year-old Mat she sees in him a soul that is as lonely and lost as hers. Slowly they learn to trust one another and each begins healing. It is when Mat's father comes to America to reclaim his child that a truth about Mat's past is revealed, a truth that might shatter Lucy's fragile little family forever.

A Watershed Year is a powerful story of love, loss, redemption, and what it means to be a mother proving that out of despair can come joy and the beauty of second chances. Includes a reader's guide and questions for book clubs.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Lucy McVie is a thirtysomething college professor mourning the loss of her best friend, Harlan. Two months after his funeral, she receives the first of several e-mails from him, arranged to be sent after his death. It is through these messages that Lucy truly learns of Harlan�s deep love for her and her importance in his life. With his encouragement from beyond, she decides to pursue her dream of motherhood. Lucy finds Yulia, who runs an agency that arranges adoptions from Russia. Yulia knows of four-year-old Azamat, nicknamed Mat, who has been abandoned by his father and needs a home. As Lucy navigates the political and economic intricacies of foreign adoption, she becomes increasingly obsessed with the need to care for Mat. Lucy struggles to raise Mat while dealing with heartbreaking grief, and when Mat�s father returns to claim him, she must find the strength to save her family. Her story is one of loss and healing, what it means to be a mother, and the importance of moving forward. --Carol Gladstein

Review

A well-told tale of life and death and the way, when we least expect it, love can encompass us roundabout....This is a brave and moving novel. --Bret Lott, Best-selling Author of the Oprah Book Club Selection Jewel

Susan Schoenberger takes us to the softer places of the heart where love in all its forms and glory transforms grief into grace. --Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times Best-selling Author of Driftwood Summer

With subtle humor and grace, A Watershed Year draws out the ways in which our closest relationships can be imperfect and yet continue to transform us. --Juliette Fay, Best-selling Author of Shelter Me

Thoughtful and uplifting reading of the power of a mother and family, A Watershed Year is an excellent pick. --Midwest Book Review

With subtle humor and grace, A Watershed Year draws out the ways in which our closest relationships can be imperfect and yet continue to transform us. --Juliette Fay, Best-selling Author of Shelter Me

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: GuidepostsBooks (March 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824948564
• ISBN-13: 978-0824948566
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,004,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Susan Schoenberger, of West Hartford, CT, is a writer, editor and copy editor with a long history of working for news organizations, including The Baltimore Sun, The Hartford Courant, and Patch.com. "A Watershed Year," her debut novel, won the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition in 2006 under the title "Intercession." Susan's short stories have been published in Inkwell, Village Rambler and on www.BartlebySnopes.com. When she's not working or driving one of her children around, she is writing a second novel. For more information, please visit www.susanschoenberger.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You won't want to put it down! June 4, 2011

By Annie B TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

A Watershed Year is one of the most poignant books I've ever read. Lucy is such a wonderful character and this story of how she finds herself is simply beautifully told.

And that is one of the greatest parts of the book--it doesn't feel like just words on a page, but like someone is brilliantly telling you a story, staight from their heart. Lucy has spent most of her life thinking, not acting. Her watershed year changes all of that. She decides to act and without a lot, or sometimes enough, thought. She just plunges, so it really doesn't come as surprse that it almost ends in destruction. It could have, and probably realistically would have, but Lucy finds strength she didn't know she has and confronts everything head-on.

This book could've turned into sentimental, melodramatic mush, but it didn't. Lucy is ultimately just too realistic for that to happen. Even her preoccupation with saints feels real and true. I'll admit that the happy ending is probably off the charts for realism, but I believe that Lucy's at-heart optimism and faith are what makes it fit and feel real for THIS story. Lucy is someone I would love to know and have in my corner, cheering me on in real life.

To balance this out, the adoption and Lucy's being completely unprepared for it emotionally are extremely realistic. So many people go into adoption without thinking of how complicated it can be--and how love doesn't spring up automatically for the children involved. Lucy has a lot to come to terms with when the ideal of having a child becomes a reality. Though it takes her some time to get her bearings, she turns this challenge into victory, for both herself and her new son.

I loved this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good high-drama novel. Be aware, though, that this isn't chick lit or light reading, though it isn't oppressively sad, so it might not be a great vacation read, but I do think it would make a good book club choice because there are lots of themes and issues to talk about. For me, overall, wonderful, satisfying and heartwarming read! If you have this in your TBR stack, move it up! You'll be glad you did.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Colorful characters stick with you long after you finish reading it May 31, 2011

By Kate O'Connor

Format:Paperback

Though I finished Susan Schoenberger's novel more than a week ago, the vivid characters that were featured in "A Watershed Year" remain in my mind. Their individual complexity, and the interplay between them, coupled with their interesting experiences is very memorable. As a busy working mom, it's hard for me to find time to read, but this book kept drawing me back in for more. Hard to believe this is a debut novel. I will certainly be recommending this to friends who love to read and looking for Schoenberger's next work. Highly recommended!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great writing is still with us! August 12, 2011

By Frank Drury

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

As I began reading this novel, I was immediately pulled into the story about Lucy and her best friend Harlan, not just by the moving story of Harlan's battle with cancer and Lucy's pending adoption of a 4 year old Russian orphan, but more so by the wonderful prose. I usually read the first chapter of any new Kindle fiction release. Very few grab me like this one did. Halfway through the story I sent a message to the author telling her that her work reminded me somewhat of Anne Tyler, particularly AN ACCIDENTAL TOURIST. But it also reminds me of great nineteenth century novels, when writing seemed to be more alive and beautiful, more caringly crafted. This book won a 5 star rating from Midwest Book Review. Susan Schoenberger also won the gold medal in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition for this book. In reading A WATERSHED YEAR, I am left with much more confidence and enthusiasm than I had before about the future of Amercian Literature. I eagerly look forward to her next work.