Books with author Mary Alice Monroe (Author)

A poignant novel of hope, acceptance, forgiveness and the heartbreaking compromises people make in the name of love. The Blakelys are broken.The family shattered as matriarch Mary June refused to face the truth of her past and a legacy of tragedy. She and her husband Preston have paid the price for years of unspoken emotions – one son is lost forever, another, Morgan, has not been home in over a decade. But now as they could be forced to sell the one thing precious to their disintegrating family – Sweetgrass, home to the Blakely family for eight generations – unless they confront the secrets that kept them apart. Old hurts and one tragic event have driven the Blakelys to destruction and now fate could be dealing them the final blow. But could this loss be their redemption? ‘I was hooked from chapter one… It’s a good old-fashioned love-story…’ Red magazine Reader Panel

Caretta Rutledge thought she'd left her Southern roots and troubled family far behind. But an unusual request from her mother – coming just as her own life is spinning out of control – has Cara heading back to the scenic Lowcountry of her childhood summers. Before long, the rhythms of the island open her heart in wonderful ways as she repairs the family beach house, becomes a bona fide "turtle lady" and renews old acquaintances long thought lost. But it is in reconnecting with her mother that she will learn life's most precious lessons – true love involves sacrifice, family is forever and the mistakes of the past can be forgiven. "Mary Alice Monroe is helping to redefine the beauty and magic of the Carolina Lowcountry. Every book she has written has felt like a homecoming to me " – Pat Conroy

In the bestselling tradition of Kathryn Stockett's novel The Help, Mary Alice Monroe skillfully weaves together issues of class, women's rights, and domestic abuse set in the tumultuous South during the 1970s as she tells the story of Olivia, "Lovie" Rutledge, the mother from The Beach House. As Lovie sits on the porch of her charming beach house and looks out over the ocean, the old woman reflects on the difficult choices she made in many years earlier - during the summer that changed her life. In 1974, at thirty-nine years old, Lovie hosts a formal dinner party for her unappreciative husband in their lovely home in a neighborhood of privilege in Charleston. The following morning she takes her two children to a nearby barrier island where her family has a modest beach cottage. Behind closed doors, and exhausted from keeping up appearances-her husband's infidelity and his withering, disdainful looks - she can only find solace and happiness at the beach. But when a handsome biologist arrives to research the status of nesting turtles - a project that is Lovie's passion - she finds herself falling in love over the course of the summer, with devastating consequences. Beautifully wrought and rich with keen insight, this is an unforgettable tale of marriage, resilience, and one woman's private strength.

The Summer Wind is the second book in Monroe's Lowcountry Summer trilogy, following the New York Times bestseller The Summer Girls. This series is the poignant and heartwarming story of three half-sisters and their grandmother, who is determined to help them rediscover their Southern roots and family bonds.It's midsummer, and Eudora, nicknamed Dora, is staying at Sea Breeze, the family's ancestral home on Sullivan's Island. For years, Dora has played the role of the perfect wife and mother in a loveless marriage. Now her husband has filed for divorce, her child is diagnosed with autism, and her house is on the market. Dora's facade collapses under the weight of her grief, and she suffers broken heart syndrome. Mamaw and the girls rally around Dora-but it's up to Dora to heal herself as she spends the summer prowling the beach, discovering the secrets of the island and her heart. This is a summer of discovery for all the women of Sea Breeze. Carson returns from Florida to face life-changing decisions, Lucille confronts a health scare, and an unexpected visitor has Harper reconsidering her life's direction.When tropical storm winds batter the island, the women must band together and weather the tempest-both the one outside their windows and the raging sea of emotions within each of them. They must learn again what it means to be a sister. It is up to Mamaw to keep the light burning at Sea Breeze to guide the girls through the lies, the threats, and the rocky waters of indecision to home.