A moving story of love, second chances and the importance of family from the Number One International Bestseller

This is a love story based on events that occurred in my life more than fifty years ago. Some of the names have been changed, and some events may have been diminished or embellished while recalling things that happened when writing the story. The story is a based on recollections of actual experiences I had. It is a story filled with discovery, joy, and the innocence of teenage years back in the fiftys. It also shows how those years became the building blocks of a lifetime. The motivation for writing this came from an extraordinary thing that happened to me in the Spring of 2006 that stirred my memory and caused me to recall with clarity what I had so long ago buried in my subconscious mind. I met a person who became a good friend, but more importantly she reawakened everything I had discovered in that one magical summer back in 1954. Looking back as an adult fifty years later made me realize that there is symmetry in life, but many people never take the time to see it. This all started for me when we returned from our Winter Condo in Boca Raton, Florida in April of 2006. As per my usual morning routine, I continued to awaken early and go over to Starbucks to sit and have my morning cup of Decaf Americano. Id sit there and read the Daily News, or the New York Times, and chat with some fascinating people I had met whod become friends in the several years since I retired. One particular April morning I came in and they had a new person in charge of the morning shift working there. From the moment I saw her I could not stop looking at her. There was something instantly so familiar about her, but I wasnt able to see exactly what it was initially. When I made the connection with what it was it hit me like a ton of bricks. After we were introduced we began chatting briefly, but the more we made small talk, the less I actually heard what she was saying as memories of my past flooded back. All of a sudden I was fifteen years old again. I knew then I had to sit down and somehow get this written. I also knew I would at some point; have to share this amazing story with her if or when I got to know her better. It was interesting recalling my early childhood, and the events that brought me to that wonderful summer of discovery, and falling in love for what I believed then to be the first and last time in my life. That summer held some of the keys to the person I would become as I grew up, and dealt with life at all ages.

The path of true love never did run smooth…did it? Kelsey Anderson is stuck in a rut so big, she’ll need a 4-wheel drive to get out. She’s just been made redundant from her dead-end job, and boyfriend Fran is so busy climbing up the career ladder that he’s forgotten how to have fun. She needs to change her life – and fast. Stumbling across an advert for tour guides in Stratford-Upon-Avon seems like the perfect way to bring the sunshine back. In an impulsive move, she moves from her small Scottish village to Shakespeare’s birthplace, armed only with a suitcase and her battered copy of Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Kelsey quickly falls in love with the place, her job as a tourist guide allowing her to explore every inch of the picture-perfect town, from cosy cafes to the picturesque banks of the river. But it’s not just the town that captures her heart, as she finds herself torn between the actors Will and Jonathan who both vie for her affections. But will beautiful Peony, the lead actress at the Oklahoma theatre company where Jonathan is playing Oberon in A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, play a role in keeping Kelsey and Jonathan apart? Or will flirtatious, charming Will, the fellow tour guide who has set his sights on Kelsey, keep the star-crossed lovers from finding their happy ending? A gorgeously uplifting, feel good romance that will captivate readers of Holly Martin, Cathy Bramley and Milly Johnson.

David Baldacci delivers a moving, family drama about learning to love again after terrible heartbreak and loss in this classic New York Times bestseller—soon to be a Hallmark original movie. It's almost Christmas, but there is no joy in the house of terminally ill Jack and his family. With only a short time left to live, he spends his last days preparing to say goodbye to his devoted wife, Lizzie, and their three children. Then, unthinkably, tragedy strikes again: Lizzie is killed in a car accident. With no one able to care for them, the children are separated from each other and sent to live with family members around the country. Just when all seems lost, Jack begins to recover in a miraculous turn of events. He rises from what should have been his deathbed, determined to bring his fractured family back together. Struggling to rebuild their lives after Lizzie's death, he reunites everyone at Lizzie's childhood home on the oceanfront in South Carolina. And there, over one unforgettable summer, Jack will begin to learn to love again, and he and his children will learn how to become a family once more.

For children and youth, summertime presents a unique break from the traditional structure, resources, and support systems that exist during the school year. For some students, this time involves opportunities to engage in fun and enriching activities and programs, while others face additional challenges as they lose a variety of supports, including healthy meals, medical care, supervision, and structured programs that enhance development. Children that are limited by their social, economic, or physical environments during the summer months are at higher risk for worse academic, health, social and emotional, and safety outcomes. In contrast, structured summertime activities and programs support basic developmental needs and positive outcomes for children and youth who can access and afford these programs. These discrepancies in summertime experiences exacerbate pre-existing academic inequities. While further research is needed regarding the impact of summertime on developmental domains outside of the academic setting, extensive literature exists regarding the impact of summertime on academic development trajectories. However, this knowledge is not sufficiently applied to policy and practice, and it is important to address these inequalities. Shaping Summertime Experiences examines the impact of summertime experiences on the developmental trajectories of school-age children and youth across four areas of well-being, including academic learning, social and emotional development, physical and mental health, and health-promoting and safety behaviors. It also reviews the state of science and available literature regarding the impact of summertime experiences. In addition, this report provides recommendations to improve the experiences of children over the summertime regarding planning, access and equity, and opportunities for further research and data collection.