Haven Point

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This debut novel spans generations of a family spending summers in a seaside enclave on Maine's rocky coast. In 1944, Maren Larsen, a determined blonde beauty from a small Minnesota farming town, joins the war effort as a cadet nurse at Walter Reed Army Hospital. There, she falls for Dr. Oliver Demarest, a charming Boston Brahmin whose family summers in an exclusive community in Maine. As Maren navigates the skepticism of Haven Point's residents regarding newcomers, she is drawn to the allure of Oliver's family and their cliffside home. However, their quick wartime marriage raises eyebrows. By the summer of 1970, tragedy strikes Haven Point, leading Oliver and Maren's daughter, Annie, to vow never to return. Nearly fifty years later, Maren's granddaughter, Skye, arrives to scatter Annie's ashes. Maren recognizes that Skye shares her mother's disdain for Haven Point's snobbishness but also knows Annie kept secrets about that tragic summer. Over seven decades, the novel delves into the complexities of belonging to a place and a family, revealing the tight grip of traditions and the weight of hidden truths.