Seaside [Hardcover]

Terri Blackstock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2001

Sarah Rivers has it all: successful husband, healthy kids, beautiful home, meaningful church work. Corinne, Sarah's sister, struggles to get by. From Web site development to jewelry sales, none of the pies she has her thumb stuck in contains a plum worth pulling. No wonder Corinne envies Sarah. What she doesn't know is how jealous Sarah is of her. And what neither of them realizes is how their frantic drive for achievement is speeding them headlong past the things that matter most in life. So when their mother, Maggie, purchases plane tickets for them to join her in a vacation on the Gulf of Mexico, they almost decline the offer. But circumstances force the issue, and the sisters soon find themselves first thrown together, then ultimately drawn together, in one memorable week in a cabin called 'Seaside.' As Maggie, a professional photographer, sets out to capture on film the faces and moods of her daughters, more than film develops. A picture emerges of possibilities that come only by slowing down and savoring the simple treasures of the moment. It takes a mother's love and honesty to teach her two daughters a wiser, uncluttered way of life---one that can bring peace to their hearts and healing to their relationship. And though the lesson comes on wings of grief, the sadness is tempered with faith, restoration, and a joy that comes from the hand of God. Seaside is a novella of the heart---poignant, gentle, true, offering an eloquent reminder that life is too precious a gift to be unwrapped in haste.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Blackstock, queen of the Christian suspense novel (Presumption of Guilt, Evidence of Mercy, etc.), departs from the thrills-and-chills genre to pen this agreeable, but never syrupy, story of a family reunion. Maggie Downing invites her adult daughters for a week of fun in the Florida sunshine, expecting that they will be able to regain some of the closeness they have lost over the years. But both daughters initially resist: Sarah pleads the excuse of not being able to leave her two young children, while the younger Corinne claims she cannot take a vacation from the three fledgling businesses she is trying to run. They do come, but are armed with cell phones and laptops, ignoring their mother's requests for the three of them to spend quality time together. Then Maggie reveals that she has struggled for a year with ovarian cancer and expects to lose the battle sooner rather than later. As the daughters deal with the shock and try to come to terms with the possibility of losing their mother, old bitterness and rivalry ebb away. While the plot is predictable, the dialogue is wonderfully natural and the strong female characters surprisingly well-developed for a novel this brief. The novella's themes of forgiveness and eternal life undergird the plot and characters, but in an unobtrusive, nondidactic way. (Feb.)Forecast: Christian readers who enjoy believable women characters will be drawn to this story, particularly as thoughtful vacation reading, relishing Maggie's message that "time wasted is not always a waste of time."

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From the Author

TERRI BLACKSTOCK is a popular novelist who has written for HarperCollins, Silhouette, Dell, and Harlequin. Her books have sold over 3.5 million copies over the last ten years. Her popular Christian suspense series, the Sun Coast Chronicles, includes Evidence of Mercy, Justifiable Means, and Ulterior Motives

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (February 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310233186
• ISBN-13: 978-0310233183
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #483,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Terri Blackstock is a New York Times best-seller, with over six million copies sold worldwide. She has had over twenty-five years of success as a novelist. Terri spent the first twelve years of her life traveling in an Air Force family. She lived in nine states and attended the first four years of school in The Netherlands. Because she was a perpetual "new kid," her imagination became her closest friend. That, she believes, was the biggest factor in her becoming a novelist. She sold her first novel at the age of twenty-five, and has had a successful career ever since.

In 1994 Terri was writing for publishers such as HarperCollins, Harlequin, Dell and Silhouette, when a spiritual awakening drew her into the Christian market. As she was praying about her transition, she went on a cruise and noticed that almost everyone on the boat (including her) had a John Grisham novel. It occurred to her that some of Grisham's readers were Christians, and that if she wrote a fast-paced thriller with an added faith element, she might just find her niche. As God would have it, Christian publishers were showing interest in the suspense genre, so she quickly sold a four-book series to Zondervan. Since that time, she's written over thirty Christian titles, most of them suspense novels.

Besides entertaining her readers, Terri tackles issues that she hopes will change lives. Her recent book, Predator, was inspired by her experiences on Facebook and Twitter, and her concern that people posted too much personal information about themselves. The book deals with an online predator who uses social networks as his playground. She hopes the book will change readers' online habits. Her New York Times best-seller, Intervention, was inspired by her own personal struggles with a daughter on drugs. In the book, a mother hires an interventionist for her drug-addicted daughter. But on the way to treatment, the interventionist is murdered, and the daughter disappears. Barbara, the mother, sets out to search for her daughter. Terri modeled Barbara after herself, and poured many of her own emotions and experiences into that character. As a result, many families experiencing drug addiction have written to thank her for telling their story and giving them hope.

Other recent books include her stand-alone novel Shadow in Serenity, and Vicious Cycle (Book 2 in her Intervention Series). She's also known for popular series such as the Restoration Series, the Cape Refuge Series, the Newpointe 911 Series, and the SunCoast Chronicles series.

Terri has appeared on national television programs such as "The 700 Club" and "Home Life," and has been a guest on numerous radio programs across the country. The story of her personal journey appears in books such as Touched By the Savior by Mike Yorkey, True Stories of Answered Prayer by Mike Nappa, Faces of Faith by John Hanna, and I Saw Him In Your Eyes by Ace Collins.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy Read, April 24, 2002

By 

Laurie (Cumberland, RI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seaside (Hardcover)

This book was a wonderful testament to the mother-daughter relationship. How sad it is that we take our Moms for granted and it is only in crisis that we see the light. Maybe this book will help to mend those relationships before a crisis occurs! Loved It!!!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a brief but thought-provoking read, June 21, 2001

By 

Beverly "bevreader" (Mississippi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seaside (Hardcover)

Maggie arranges for her and her two grown daughters to spend an uninterrupted week together at the beach, not realizing that they will want to spend all of their time on the phone and computer. Finally she is forced to tell the truth: she has cancer, and thinks that her time left is very limited. They try to spend the rest of the week enjoying and appreciating each other before it's too late. I recently heard Blackstock in a radio interview say that a novella can be read in one sittting, and you will certainly be able to do that with Seaside because you will want to know how it ends. Although I like Blackstock's mystery/thrillers better than Seaside, I did find this book very thought-provoking and enjoyed reading it.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very endearing, March 24, 2010

By 

Mrs. Martin "Mrs. Martin" (West Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seaside (Kindle Edition)

If you are a mother or a daughter I think that you will enjoy this book and feel connected to it. I am both a mother and a daughter and it taught me lessons on both fronts. First and foremost it is about slowing down, letting go and enjoying life not just exsisting. I think this book has appealing qualities that will help almost anyone relate. Whether you are a older and trying to repair and come to terms with regrets, a single woman trying to find your place in the world or a mother trying to find herself while still being the best mom and wife you can be. It has something for everyone. Although I didn't enjoy it as much as Blackstocks suspense series', it was a nice quick read that was both touching and thought provocing.