by T. Greenwood
Back at home, I seek solace in the water: in the steaming hot showers that pummel my tired shoulders, in the cool water I drink to stay alive. I find all the necessary comfort in the ocean, in its crashing waves singing me to sleep and in its enormous embrace.
It is winter now, though you wouldn’t know it. All of the tourists are gone, and the beach belongs to me and the other locals. It is good to be home again. Linda is glad to have me back at the library. Robert decided to go back to school for the second semester, and while this is good, I know she needs me to help fill the space he has left behind. Juan too is happy to have me back. He expects me each night, and we watch the sun set together in the nearly empty bar before I make my way home. The girls at Daybreak chat and smile as they make my coffee the way I like it, and my refrigerator is full of good things that Mena has made and Sam has delivered. I am taken care of here. I am not alone.
And so each morning I rise, as I always rise, as soon as the sun taps my shoulders and I click off the twinkling lights on my porch to let Pete know that all is well. Then I slip on my suit and make my way down the stone steps to the beach.
The water is cold, but it makes me feel alive. Reminds me that I am alive.
“You are a swimmer,” it says in its thunderous voice. It is right, I think. I am a swimmer; that is what I have always been. And from my place in the ocean, I glance at the shore to look for her. For Eva, though I know she is really gone now. I was there, this time, to say good-bye.
But sometimes, when the light is right, I still find her standing there. She wears the bright blue suit she always wore, and her legs are long and strong. Her lips are red, and her hair tumbles freely down her pale back. She waves a big, happy wave to me from her place on the shore. And she cups her hands to her mouth to holler something out to me, but the music of the ocean is too loud, and I can’t hear her anymore. And so I just smile back at her, put my head and arms into the water. And I swim.
Acknowledgments
Stories are always gifts.
Most of the time, they arrive simply as offerings from my own imagination. But other times, they are bestowed by others, presented tentatively, wrapped in beautiful paper and tied up with complicated little bows. Bodies of Water was such a gift.
In the summer of 2011, Hurricane Irene devastated much of my home state of Vermont. The deluge carried away old barns, homes, and bridges. We had just left our summer camp on Newark Pond in the Northeast Kingdom, where we spend every August, and were staying with family on our way home. Because I was driving, and because of the storm that was pummeling the entire East Coast, our hosts graciously asked us to stay another night. And something about the storm, something about being trapped inside, hunkered down together for one more night, seemed to open all of us up, and, because I come from a family of storytellers, we started to share stories. But it was this story, this beautiful love story, that kept me awake all night long. As the rain and wind pounded against the windows, I could almost feel the ribbons in my fingers as I slowly began to unwrap this gift.
This novel is absolutely fiction, but the seed of truth planted that night, nurtured by all that wild rain, was where it began. And so first I thank you, Irene, you miserable witch; here is proof that at least one good thing came out of your fury.
Thank you to my cousins (second or once removed or whatever you are), Angela and Carlene Riccelli, who shared and shared and shared. Who trusted and then shared even more. This is for you both.
Thank you to my mother, Cyndy Greenwood, for being there and encouraging me to tell this story. And to my father and sister who, for some reason, continue to be my biggest fans. To Esther Stewart for her early read, as well.
To Patrick for helping when things get rough.
To Mikaela and Esmée for reminding me again and again of why I do what I do.
To Rich Farrell for your honest and meticulous reading every single time.
To Miranda Beverly-Whittemore for your friendship, for the perfect title, and for your crazy talent.
To Henry Dunow for your wild and beautiful enthusiasm. It always comes just when I need it the most.
And to Peter Senftleben (as always) for helping me to part the clouds.
A READING GROUP GUIDE
Bodies of Water
T. Greenwood
The following discussion questions and playlist are included to enhance your group’s reading of Bodies of Water.
Discussion Questions
1. This is a love story, but it is also the story of an affair, an infidelity. Discuss how that impacts your reading of the characters and empathy to their situations.
2. Billie’s insecurities about herself as a mother run deep. Are they warranted? Is she a good mother? Why or why not?
3. What does Eva represent to Billie? Do you think Eva was in love with her specifically or with the notion of her? Do you think she would have stayed with Billie had she made it to Vermont?
4. Each woman has a different motive for getting involved in this relationship. What are these motives? What does each woman gain from the other’s love and companionship?
5. Billie has made a life for herself in California. Do you think she is truly happy? Why or why not? How about at the end of the novel, once she knows what really happened to Eva?
6. Billie alludes to another relationship, but she says, “Even Lou, who was my constant companion for nearly twenty-five years, is shadowy now. A whisper. An echo. But the picture of Eva is brilliant.” What do you think this says about her relationship with Lou? Discuss your impressions of Lou.
7. Discuss each of the marriages (Ted and Eva, Billie and Frankie). How would you characterize these men? How are they similar? How are they different?
8. What do you think motivates Johnny to orchestrate the reunion between Eva and Billie? Why did he not do it sooner? Discuss what his relationship with Ted might have been like growing up.
9. What does Billie sacrifice in order to move on with her life? Are there any other victims here?
10. This novel returns to the fictional Lake Gormlaith found in many of T. Greenwood’s novels. Discuss what the lake setting provides for Billie and Eva.
11. Do you think that Gussy knew what was transpiring between Eva and Billie? Was she complicit in the affair? Do you think she knew that Eva survived the crash? If so, why would she not tell Billie?
12. In the end, Johnny tells Billie that Ted lied to end the affair, and told Frankie that Billie was dead. Do you think Frankie would have told Billie the truth if he knew it?
13. How might the love story between Billie and Eva have played out if they had met in 2013 instead of the 1960s? Would their romance really have been easier, more accepted? Why or why not? Discuss how the social and cultural restrictions of the 1960s shaped their affair and what the differences would be today.
14. Early on, older Billie observes patrons of the library: “I’ve seen how lost people get on the Internet, tapping away frantically. Teenagers lined up in a row not speaking to each other, but rather clicking away on their Facebook pages, sending e-mails, instant messaging, ignoring one another in favor of their virtual friends. Watching them makes me feel strangely lonely.” Explore the theme of loneliness in Bodies of Water. How and when is Billie lonely? When is she not?
15. Reread the opening paragraphs to the first and last chapters. Has the concept of memory evolved over the course of the novel? If so, how? If not, discuss the consistencies. Talk about the importance of memory in the book and in the way you experience your own lives and loves.
The Bodies of Water Playlist
Music is significant in setting the tone and time period in Bodies of Water. Below are the songs and artists mentioned in the novel; listening to them might set the mood for your reading group meeting.
“A Change Is Gonna Come”
This song by Sam Cooke isn’t used in the novel, but if there were a soundtrack, this would be on it, its theme song.
“Moonlight in Vermont”
A jazz standard that has been covered by hundreds of singers, but the most notable versions that Eva would know are by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, and, again, Sam Cooke.
Chet Baker
By the time Billie helps Eva take a soothing bath away from the kids in 1960, Chet Baker had released over a dozen records. She most likely would have had Chet Baker Sings or Embraceable You to put on the hi-fi.
Perry Como, Jo Stafford, and Kate Smith
Billie’s preferred musical taste, with Kate Smith being her favorite. I imagine she used to watch The Kate Smith Show when Frankie was drinking his wine.
Chubby Checker and Sam Cooke
Eva liked to listen to jazz and rock ’n’ roll more than Billie did, but they would sometimes dance to Chubby Checker.
“Alone Together”
The version Billie and Eva dance to in February 1961 was most likely recorded by Peggy Lee but could have been performed by Judy Garland or Chet Baker.
“Runaway” by Del Shannon
Billie picks up a fuzzy signal on the radio while camping with the Girl Scouts and they listen to this number one hit from 1961.
Kind of Blue by Miles Davis
The song being played by a band when Billie and Eva first enter a New York City bar with Dot is off of one of Eva’s favorite records, the Miles Davis classic Kind of Blue.
“Forbidden Fruit” by Nina Simone Another song the band plays in the bar, which seems appropriate.
“My Shining Hour” by John Coltrane
Eva and Billie dance to this song in the bar before sharing their first public kiss.
The Hollies
When Billie goes to Boston, she offers to stop at a record store and pick up the new Elvis album, Fun in Acapulco, for Chessy and Mouse.
Have you read all of T. Greenwood’s critically acclaimed novels?
Available in trade paperback and as e-books.
BREATHING WATER
Three years after leaving Lake Gormlaith, Vermont, Effie Greer is coming home. The unspoiled lake, surrounded by dense woods and patches of wild blueberries, is the place where she spent idyllic childhood summers at her grandparents’ cottage. And it’s where Effie’s tempestuous relationship with her college boyfriend, Max, culminated in a tragedy she can never forget.
Effie had hoped to save Max from his troubled past, and in the process became his victim. Since then, she’s wandered from one city to another, living like a fugitive. But now Max is gone, and as Effie paints and restores the ramshackle cottage, she forms new bonds—with an old school friend, with her widowed grandmother, and with Devin, an artist and carpenter summering nearby. Slowly, she’s discovering a resilience and tenderness she didn’t know she possessed, and—buoyed by the lake’s cool, forgiving waters—she may even learn to save herself.
Wrenching yet ultimately uplifting, here is a novel of survival, hope, and absolution, from a writer of extraordinary insight and depth.
GRACE
T. Greenwood’s extraordinary novels deftly combine lyrical prose with heartrending subject matter. Now she explores one year in a family poised to implode, and the imperfect love that may be its only salvation.
Every family photograph hides a story. Some are suffused with warmth and joy, others reflect the dull ache of disappointed dreams. For thirteen-year-old Trevor Kennedy, taking photos helps make sense of his fractured world. His father, Kurt, struggles to keep a business going while also caring for Trevor’s aging grandfather, whose hoarding has reached dangerous levels. Trevor’s mother, Elsbeth, all but ignores her son while doting on his five-year-old sister, Gracy, and pilfering useless drugstore items.
Trevor knows he can count on little Gracy’s unconditional love and his art teacher’s encouragement. None of that compensates for the bullying he has endured at school for as long as he can remember. But where Trevor once silently tolerated the jabs and name-calling, now anger surges through him in ways he’s powerless to control.
Only Crystal, a store clerk dealing with her own loss, sees the deep fissures in the Kennedy family—in the haunting photographs Trevor brings to be developed, and in the palpable distance between Elsbeth and her son. And as their lives become more intertwined, each will be pushed to the breaking point, with shattering, unforeseeable consequences.
NEARER THAN THE SKY
In this mesmerizing novel, T. Greenwood draws readers into the fascinating and frightening world of Munchausen syndrome by proxy—and into one woman’s search for healing.
When Indie Brown was four years old, she was struck by lightning. In the oft-told version of the story, Indie’s life was heroically saved by her mother. But Indie’s own recollection of the event, while hazy, is very different.
Most of Indie’s childhood memories are like this—tinged with vague, unsettling images and suspicions. Her mother, Judy, fussed over her pretty youngest daughter, Lily, as much as she ignored Indie. That neglect, coupled with the death of her beloved older brother, is the reason Indie now lives far away in rural Maine. It’s why her relationship with Lily is filled with tension, and why she dreads the thought of flying back to Arizona. But she has no choice. Judy is gravely ill, and Lily, struggling with a challenge of her own, needs her help.
In Arizona, faced with Lily’s hysteria and their mother’s instability, Indie slowly begins to confront the truth about her half-remembered past and the legacy that still haunts her family. And as she revisits her childhood, with its nightmares and lost innocence, she finds she must reevaluate the choices of her adulthood—including her most precious relationships.
THIS GLITTERING WORLD
Acclaimed author T. Greenwood crafts a moving, lyrical story of loss, atonement, and promises kept.
One November morning, Ben Bailey walks out of his Flagstaff, Arizona, home to retrieve the paper. Instead, he finds Ricky Begay, a young Navajo man, beaten and dying in the newly fallen snow.
Unable to forget the incident, especially once he meets Ricky’s sister, Shadi, Ben begins to question everything, from his job as a part-time history professor to his fiancée, Sara. When Ben first met Sara, he was mesmerized by her optimism and easy confidence. These days, their relationship only reinforces a loneliness that stretches back to his fractured childhood.
Ben decides to discover the truth about Ricky’s death, both for Shadi’s sake and in hopes of filling in the cracks in his own life. Yet the answers leave him torn—between responsibility and happiness, between his once-certain future and the choices that could liberate him from a delicate web of lies he has spun.
UNDRESSING THE MOON
Dark and compassionate, graceful yet raw, Undressing the Moon explores the seams between childhood and adulthood, between love and loss . . .
At thirty, Piper Kincaid feels too young to be dying. Cancer has eaten away her strength; she’d be alone but for a childhood friend who’s come home by chance. Yet with all the questions of her future before her, she’s adrift in the past, remembering the fateful summer she turned fourteen and her life changed forever.
Her nervous father’s job search seemed stalled for good, as he hung around the house watching her mother’s every move. What he and Piper had both dreaded at last came to pass: Her restless, artistic mother, who smelled of lilacs and showed Piper beauty, finally left.
With no one to rely on, Piper struggled to hold on to what was important. She had a brother who loved her and a teacher enthralled with her potential. But her mother’s absence, her father’s distance, and a volatile secret threatened her delicate balance.
Now Piper is once again left with the jagged pieces of a shattered life. If she is ever going to put herself back together, she’ll have to begin with the summer that broke them all....
THE HUNGRY SEASON
It’s been five years since the Mason family vacationed at the lakeside cottage in northeastern Vermont, close to where prizewinning novelist Samuel Mason grew up. The summers that Sam, his wife,
Mena, and their twins Franny and Finn spent at Lake Gormlaith were noisy, chaotic, and nearly perfect. But since Franny’s death, the Masons have been flailing, one step away from falling apart. Lake Gormlaith is Sam’s last, best hope of rescuing his son from a destructive path and salvaging what’s left of his family.
As Sam struggles with grief, writer’s block, and a looming deadline, Mena tries to repair the marital bond she once thought was unbreakable. But even in this secluded place, the unexpected—in the form of an over-zealous fan, a surprising friendship, and a second chance—can change everything.
From the acclaimed author of Two Rivers comes a compelling and beautifully told story of hope, family, and above all, hunger—for food, sex, love, and success—and for a way back to wholeness when a part of oneself has been lost forever.
TWO RIVERS
Two Rivers is a powerful, haunting tale of enduring love, destructive secrets, and opportunities that arrive in disguise . . .
In Two Rivers, Vermont, Harper Montgomery is living a life overshadowed by grief and guilt. Since the death of his wife, Betsy, twelve years earlier, Harper has narrowed his world to working at the local railroad and raising his daughter, Shelly, the best way he knows how. Still wracked with sorrow over the loss of his lifelong love and plagued by his role in a brutal, long-ago crime, he wants only to make amends for his past mistakes.