The Time Between By Karen White

Actually, from the very first sentence

Author Karen White sure knew what she was doing when she chose the first sentence for this book:

"The first time I died was the summer I turned seventeen."

Now, I don't know about you but that one sentence reeled me in hook, line and sinker. Before I knew it, I had been "kidnapped by a good book". You know the kind of book I am talking about. Around my home, it is the kind where when my husband asked "What's for dinner?" I respond that I have not had time to go to the grocery store today and thought I would just open a can of Chicken Noodle Soup. Yep, for the next couple of days I would be "good for nothing" but reading and enjoying every minute of it.

Photo Credit: Photo of the inside of this book by OhMe created on PictureIt!

and I have two very special sisters

There are two very different sets of sisters in this book.One is Eleanor (Ellie) and the book opens with her as the first person. Eleanor feels responsible for the fact that her sister, Eve, will spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. She is filled with guilt and spends her days caring for Eve and their mother while also working to help support the family. She also has a confusing relationship with Eve's husband and thinks that she might be in love with him so of course she feels guilty about that, too. Eve works in a Finance Company in Charleston where her family moved after the accident. Her boss hires her to care for his own young daughter and great aunt, Helena. She needed the money from a second job and loved the thought of returning to Edisto!Helena and her two sisters were from Hungary but both her sisters had died and she was grieving the loss of Bernadett, the sister who lived with her in Edisto. Helena told Eleanor this about sisters:

"The relationship between sisters is a little piece of Heaven and Hell. But we share the same soul."

Having two wonderful sisters, I know that I would do anything in this world for them so I understood some of the emotions that Helena and Eleanor were going through. Sister Relationships are very special.

Photo Credit: This photo is of my sisters and me at one of our Tate Family Reunions.

Two of my most favorite places on earth

Eleanor and Eve grew up on Edisto Island with their parents. Their father had a shrimp boat and was drowned at sea when Eleanor was only 14 years old. Eleanor and her father were very close and a lot alike. He taught her to love music and to play the piano from the heart. Things were never the same after his death.I love Edisto and when I read Karen White's description, I could just visualize being right there. It was such a vivid image that I could even smell the pluff mud.

My hubby and I went to Edisto on our honeymoon and have many fond memories. I also used to go once a year with a group of lady friends from my hometown of Pendleton, SC. We always had such a great time but as we got older we mainly enjoyed reading a good book and just lazying around. I won't be able to join them this year but I will be sending my copy of "The Time Between" for them to read and pass around. I want each person to write in the front of it what they thought about the book. I sure hope they enjoy it as much as I did. I usually try to take a book by a Southern author when I go to the beach.

Photo Credit: Shrimp Boat photo by OhMe

and I sure did learn some interesting things in this book

The first tidbit of information that I absorbed from reading this book is about the Sweetgrass Baskets. I am proud to be the owner of one which is in the picture here. I have seen many of them over the years and had a dear friend who purchased one every time she went to Charleston much the same way that Bernadett did. I was thrilled when she gave me one but I never knew that the designs all had names. When Eleanor saw one named "Dreams of Rivers", she just had to purchase it for Helena. Helena had shared that she grew up by the Danube River in Hungary and now she lived on the Edisto River.

Now, when I see a Sweetgrass Basket, I will want to find out the name of the pattern.Throughout the book, Eleanor discovers Helena's love for fine art and music and her experiences during World War II. I found all this to be very interesting.

Although I am not musically inclined, I do have a great appreciation for music and a great admiration to those who can play the piano beautifully. In the story, Helena's piano is this beautiful 1926 Mason & Hamlin Grand Piano that is in reality the author's personal piano. I really enjoyed reading her blog and learning about how she came in possession of it. I think it is so special that she featured it in this story and that Eleanor played such beautiful music on it from her heart.

Photo Credit: Thank you, Author Karen White, for allowing me to post this picture of your beautiful piano.

I felt like I was in the room listening to Eleanor play this piano and she played so beautifully with a lot of emotion and heart. I listened to this while I was working on this page. Hope you enjoy listening, too!

I have a new appreciation for Chopin and will continue to enjoy listening to this. Enjoy!

and I did not want it to end!

When I read the final paragraph and closed this book, I just sat there pondering what I had spent the last couple of days devouring. There was so much to think about on many different levels. The relationship of the characters and all the emotions that goes into any relationship is probably the most thought provoking. There is love between sisters, between father and daughter, between man and woman and lives filled with joy, grief, forgiveness, memories, secrets, disappointments, dreams and second chances.It was harder than I thought to explain why I enjoyed this book because I didn't want to tell too much. I just want everyone I know to read it so we can talk about it! Karen White is one of my favorite Southern authors.

"There was how we were before, and how we are now, and the time between is spent choosing which doors to open, and which to close." The Time Between by Karen White

Photo Credit: OhMe's photo of her book being closed

Please join the poll and let me hear from. If you have read it, I hope you will tell us what you think in the guestbook below. Thank you.

Author Karen White refers to her writing as "Grit Lit - Southern Women's Fiction" and fortunately has included our beautiful South Carolina Coast in her works. I love it when Southern authors use our beautiful state as the setting for their novels.She grew up in London, England and presently lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She also enjoys reading, scrapbooking and playing her gorgeous piano. Her dog, Quincy, has been featured in some of her books, too."The Time Between" was her 16th Novel and was released in June 2013. I hope you will visit her blog, website, and facebook page that are featured below. I had emailed Karen White to ask permission to use a picture of her and a picture of her piano for this page. I also asked for a bio and asked her what her favorite book has been that she has written. She gave me permission to use the pictures and this was her response to my question about her favorite book:

"As for my favorite book, that's a lot like asking a mother who's her favorite child (my dog). I know I always say my favorite is my most recent book because the characters are still knocking around in my head, but I really think THE TIME BETWEEN is my favorite. I adore the setting and the characters, not to mention the gorgeous cover my publisher gave it!" Karen White