Jane Austen in Woods Hole

AR head shotIn my little writing world, I live two different lives: one in Regency England for my Pemberley Variations series and the other on modern-day Cape Cod where my Woods Hole novels, The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice (aka Pemberley by the Sea) and Morning Light, take place. For contemporary novel month, I’m going to tell you my personal Cape Cod story and how I ended up writing novels set there. This story has a lot in common with my novels. It starts out promising, then gets angsty, then has a happy ending. It’s the old ‘girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets boy back’ plot line, except that the boy in this case happens to be a lovely windswept peninsula in Massachusetts.

Despite growing up in the Northeast, I didn’t discover Cape Cod until I was in my twenties. It was serendipity that brought me to Woods Hole. I’d first heard of research community there as a child when I read Madeline L’Engle’s books, since several of her characters are peripherally involved in research there. Somehow I came out of it with a mental image of a romanticized lab with lots of wooden filing cabinets (L’Engle’s character does a lot of filing) deep in the woods somewhere.

Fast forward to 1984. I’d just finished a post-baccalaureate program designed to prepare college grads in the humanities to go to medical school, and was already accepted to start med school the following September. In the meantime, I had a few months to kill when I stumbled across a prospectus from the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, looking for grad students for their summer research program. I practically started drooling as I read it. Applying for the position was a ridiculously long shot, but I figured I didn’t have anything to lose. I had the very minimum requirements and no background in marine biology, but, as serendipity would have it, they had a last-minute opening that just happened to include a full fellowship. How could I refuse?

Woods Hole aerial view

Woods Hole aerial view

I discovered when I arrived that Woods Hole wasn’t in the woods at all, but on the southwest tip of Cape Cod, with salt water in almost every direction. It’s a village of typical Cape grey-shingled houses interspersed with lab buildings, chock full of world-renowned scientists. Cassie Boulton, the Elizabeth Bennet-like marine biologist heroine of The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice, describes it like this:

“Well, that’s Woods Hole for you.” Cassie gestured toward the window with her fork. “Half the population has a doctorate. There are probably enough advanced degrees in town to sink a battleship. You’d better be careful about how you talk to any odd looking old men muttering to themselves, because they just might be a Nobel laureate. It’s a world unto itself, like summer camp for grown-up scientists. One little town, and it has the MBL, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the National Marine Fisheries, and a half a dozen other research groups.”

It was a fabulous summer and, like many others, I fell in love with Woods Hole. My future didn’t involve marine biology, but I kept returning to Cape Cod for vacations whenever I could, eventually making a family tradition of renting a house there for a two weeks each summer. We stayed in a different area of the Cape, but every year we spent a day in Woods Hole, and always ate lunch in the same restaurant that appears in my books. My kids thought of the Cape as a second home. I couldn’t wait to get back there every year.

In 2002, a terrible thing happened while we were visiting the Cape. My son, then 8 years old, had a catastrophic accident in the sand on our favorite beach. I was able to resuscitate him (med school does have its uses), but he already had brain damage. The trauma doctors didn’t expect him to live. Somehow he managed to pull through, but the damage was such that the doctors said he’d never walk or talk again. But after a long hospitalization and months of intensive rehab, he proved us all wrong. He’s now a junior in high school, has a black belt, takes classes in marine biology each summer in Woods Hole, and the rehab doctors call him “the walking miracle.”

Man Who Loved P&PAlthough the end of that story was better than any of us could have hoped for, we all carried scars from the accident. None of us could face going back to Cape Cod, the place where all of this happened, so we stayed away. I was terribly torn. I couldn’t go to the Cape, but I couldn’t stand losing the place I loved so much, either. I did the only thing I could think of, which was to start writing a Pride & Prejudice novel set in Woods Hole. That way I could have the Cape in my mind, but not have to face reminders of the accident. It worked better than I could have hoped, and that novel eventually became The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice. It’s my personal favorite of all my books, and it took on a life of its own, with three other books (two of them still being written) using the same characters and settings. My editor once said that the setting of the book functioned almost like another character, and that rang true to me. It kept me company in those years I couldn’t go to the Cape.

But I promised you a happy ending, didn’t I? Well, after three years away, my family timidly went back to the Cape for a week. This time we stayed near Woods Hole where we wouldn’t face painful reminders all the time – also very convenient for my research for Morning Light. I got to know West Falmouth, the town just north of Woods Hole where Cassie’s salt marsh is located, quite well. When I wrote Morning Light, I placed the heroine’s house in a very particular location, half-way up the ridge overlooking Buzzards Bay in West Falmouth and surrounded by woods, right where I wished I could live.

sippewissett2

Great Sippewissett Salt Marsh

In June of 2008, my husband and I decided to celebrate our 20th anniversary by inviting various far-flung friends to join us on the Cape. One night we were talking about how several of us had fantasized about eventually retiring to the Cape, but we’d never be able to afford it given the inflated housing prices there. One thing led to another, and for fun we decided to look up on the interet just how expensive houses there were. They were more reasonable than we expected, since this was in that brief interval just after the housing market on the Cape collapsed and before the stock market had followed suit, but still the prices were out of our league. Except, perhaps, for this one house that had just been listed that day for way below market value– a house that was half-way up the ridge in West Falmouth and surrounded by woods, and built in the style that my husband and I liked.

I knew I had to find out what was wrong with this house to make the price so low or the missed opportunity would haunt me forever. We went to see it the next day. It needed some work and updating, but nothing unmanageable, and the seller was desperate, which was why he had lowered the price. And – I’m not making this part up – there was a charming old boat buoy sitting beside the house that had my initials on it.

In the single most financially irresponsible decision of our otherwise frugal lives, my husband and I bought it for our eventual retirement. Meantime, we rent it out to tourists most of the time to help with the mortgage, and we go out there several times a year to work on home improvements. I just got back from spending a week there with my daughter re-tiling the kitchen floor and refinishing the countertops. We love it dearly, and I can walk to Cassie’s salt marsh whenever I want. Just think how easy it will make the research for my next Woods Hole book – and yes, the name of the house wi-fi network is Pemberley. 🙂

The weary but triumphant laborers and newly painted countertops

If you’re interested, I’ve made a virtual tour of the settings in The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice. It’s out of sequence since I haven’t learned to organize the photos yet, but you can visit it here.

Woods Hole is my very special spot on earth. I’d love to hear about yours!

*****

Addendum: I’m adding a few things to answer some of the amazing number of questions I’ve received about this post.

About Woods Hole/MBL:

1. Yes, I did some of my research in the salt marsh!

2. The Children’s School of Science in Woods Hole offers fabulous classes in marine science for kids age 7-16. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

3. I love giving on-location tours of sights from the books. The first time I did that was when I went back to the Cape after my son’s accident, I went without my family, but fellow Austen Author Heather Lynn Rigaud accompanied me in case I couldn’t cope. We stayed part of the time in a B&B half-way up the ridge in West Falmouth that we referred to as Pemberley by the Sea.

About my son:

1. Yes, he does still have some deficits, but they’re minor enough that you’d have to be looking to see them, and some secondary medical issues. He has to stay physically active on a regular basis, since 3+ days of rest of any particular muscle group will cause his muscles to atrophy (this is because he’s using converted sensory neurons as motor neurons and they lack certain functions to preserve muscle tone). He still has some minor scarring in his brain and there’s still some sand in scar tissue in one of his lungs.

2. The doctors weren’t wrong about his prognosis. I saw the MRIs and I agreed fully with them. The MRIs were unequivocal. Medical science was wrong about how much healing his brain could do. When my son first started regaining function, one of his pediatric neurologists got up in church and cried as he talked about witnessing a miracle. We still have to go through the routine with every new doctor he sees, telling them that they really are looking at the correct chart, and sometimes they still won’t believe me until I make them call the peds neurologist. It’s that inexplicable.

3. Yes, it was that bad. At the Boston hospital he was med-flighted to, they had an organ donation team standing by to harvest his organs.

4. Bystander CPR is important. He wouldn’t have survived without it. And don’t tell me you couldn’t do CPR on your own child. When you’re standing there and the choices are CPR or your child never breathing again, you don’t stop to think about whether it’s too weird or not.

5. He was nowhere near the water when it happened. He was building a sand castle and it collapsed on him and smothered him. Sand burial is much more common than you think and it’s usually fatal – there are a number of deaths from it most years. It’s the hazards that you don’t know about that are the problem.

The house:

1. Yes, buying it strained our finances severely, but it was worth it. Sometimes you just have to go after your dreams and hope that it’ll all work out.

2. The countertops are laminate and were formerly bright blue. My talented daughter with some help from me painted them in a faux granite pattern and then we put a clear coat on top of it. You can find instructions for it here. Here’s a close-up of ours: Tagged with:, , , , t

49 comments on “Jane Austen in Woods Hole”

    1. Sophia Rose
      I absolutely adored your descriptions of Woods Hole when I read ‘Pemberley By the Sea’ for the first time. What an interesting turn of events your life took to write that book.Congrats on finding your dream home!Thanks for sharing!

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          Thanks. I’m glad my feelings about Woods Hole came through to you in the book!

    1. LeslieGB
      Hi Abigail,I’m also a long time lover of your “Pemberley By the Sea” novel. Thank you for sharing your Woods Hole inspiration and your personal background. I love both your Regency Pemberley variations and your modern Woods Hole story. You have a gift of story telling. Please keep writing! :smile: :smile:P.S. Your kitty in your picture looks just like my LBK (Little black kitty)!

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          Thank you. Our black kitty isn’t little at all, but he’s very sweet.

    1. Diana Birchall
      What a touching and beautiful story, so well told – better even than fiction. Thank you so much for sharing.

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          If I tried to write it as fiction, no one would believe it. :)

    1. Nina Benneton
      Abigail,My throat tightened reading your post. Thank you for sharing. So HAPPY your son’s a walking miracle. That must have been the most traumatic thing for a mother to experience.My favorite spot on earth (after reading about your Wood’s Hole) this morning is Tutka Bay in Alaska. It’s peaceful. Nothing but the sounds of silence and nature. I can close my eyes and dream I’m kayaking through the calm water and accompanied by a pair of seal swimming along side. Oh, and the bear in nearby eyeing me for lunch.

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          Tutka Bay sounds fabulous – apart from the bear, at least. And believe it or not, that description of my son’s accident and recovery was way scaled back from the drama actually involved.

    1. Jakki L.
      Thank you for sharing your personal story and how your Woods Hole series helped you through not being able to physically visit the Cape. I am so glad everything worked out so well for your son, how amazing! How fun that he takes classes in marine biology in the summer there!Can’t wait for the next Woods Hole book to come out! (Oh, and flooding in your latest Regency?! You now have me pondering what get flooded :grin: )

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          There’s a marvelous kids’ summer school for marine science in Woods Hole, the Children’s School of Science (http://childrensschoolofscience.org/) where they take advantage of all the amazing resources of the area. Lots of scientists’ kids go there. I’m really glad my son had a chance to go there.

    1. Wendy
      What an incredible story! I’m so happy for you to have found your dream place.Thank you for sharing your story with us. I’m never good at “reviewing”, but always want to express my appreciation whenever you share with us these little bits of yourself. I’m so pleased to hear that your son recovered so well, thank goodness for miracles!

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          Thanks. I actually debated a long time before posting this as to whether it was too personal, so I’m glad to know it worked out okay.

    1. Alyssa Goodnight
      Woods Hole sounds like a lovely place–like a place you read about in a book and wish it were real. :) How wonderful that you found it first and then put it in a book (series)!So very glad there was a happy ending for everyone!!

    1. Susan Mason-Milks
      Thank you for sharing something so personal. Pemberley by the Sea (now The Man Who Loved P&P) is one of my favorites. When I read it, I can really feel the pull between the Cassie and Calder that makes them so special.I don’t think I have a #1 favorite spot, but Laguna Beach in California is pretty close. My husband and I lived there when we were first married. I could see the sunsets over Catalina Island from my living room window. Unfortunately, it was a rental that we couldn’t possibly afford to buy at the time.A few years ago, I had a vision of myself writing on my laptop while looking out a big window at the ocean. There was also a dog involved, but I’m trying to keep that little detail from my cats who would not be happy. I haven’t found this spot yet, but I know I will.

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          I hope you’ll find your window onto the ocean, Susan!

    1. Susan Kaye
      Fiction is fun, but I think that the behind-the-scenes stories of writers may be even funner!Thanks for sharing this story, Abigail. It’s great to know there are “walking miracles” out there.

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          Sometimes life is stranger than fiction!

    1. Beverly A. Sywulak
      Abigail, I’ve wanted to tell you for so long how much I love TMWLP&P, even though I own it as Pemberley by the Sea…..it has become my book to re-read (8x so far!) when I need a bigger dose of passion in my humdrum life! I think I have all of your books written so far, and alway watch for the next one. I believe you are my favorite P&P adaptations author!I, too, am sorry for the horror you and your family had to endure, but I being a true believer of the idea “there is no such thing as coincidence” feel there is much more good to come out of your experience. (Please believe me that I feel it will all be positive, not negative!)…..oh, by the way, our family once had a BIG black cat — we referred to him as our toxic-waste-mutant-cat since he was found in a boat marina in South NJ…..he weighed 30 pounds after he grew into his tail (and a very long tail it was!)!!!Cassie and Calder…..forever!!!!!

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          30 lbs of cat – that must have been a very long tail indeed! Thanks for sharing your response to TMWLP&P, which I still think of as PbtS. As for the rest – there has been good that has come out of it, and I hope there will be more to come.

    1. Heather Lynn Rigaud
      Even though I know this story, :D I still found myself completely spellbound by it. Thanks for sharing this beautiful story of hope and healing. And I completely agree that Wood’s Hole is one of the prettiest and nicest places on the planet.

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          In an earlier version of the post, I wrote about visiting West Falmouth and Woods Hole with you, but had to trim the whole thing down to the bare minimum to keep it reasonable post length. I remember so well walking through the salt marsh with you. The railroad tracks are a bike path now.

    1. Mary Simonsen
      So happy to hear that your son recovered. As for your writing journey, you made lemonade out of lemons. This was a very touching story. Thank you for sharing.

    1. Monica P
      What an incredible story! It gave me chills when you said that the buoy had your initials on it. It just reinforces my belief that there are no coincidences. I can’t even imagine what you and your son went through, and I’m so happy he is defying the odds and is doing so well.Pemberley by the Sea is one of my very favorites. Calder has such a vulnerability about him and such a need for Cassie that only she understands- I just love it. I never had a desire to go to Cape Cod until I read it. Now I would love to see it someday. Looking at the photos was great. So many things look just like I imagined, especially Haverford. I don’t really have a favorite place. Maybe sitting on my mom’s porch in the sun. It always makes me feel relaxed and younger, at least. :)Thanks for sharing Abigail. Never stop writing!

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          I still remember just where I was standing when I saw the buoy – almost a Twilight Zone moment, but in a good way. ;)

    1. Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
      I too am a frequent “Cape Codder” having vacationed there almost every summer as a child. I loved the Cape so much that my husband and I made it our honeymoon destination.I’m so glad that the outcome of your son’s accident was a positive one, and that you’ve been able to fall back in love with the Cape. I remember reading The Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice and frequently closing my eyes just to picture the Cape in my mind.Excellent piece Abigail, I truly loved it!

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          Thank you. It’s amazing how that little spit of land has managed to find its way into so many people’s hearts.

    1. Candy M
      Thanks for sharing your story with us, Abigail. I’m sure your son’s accident was a very horrible experience, I can’t imagine what you went through. I am so happy that he is a walking miracle!! It’s wonderful that you are back and have your own place there! A happy ending indeed!

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          Please don’t try to imagine the horrible experience, Candy – it’s much nicer to spend your time in the happy ending!

    1. Gayle Mills
      Not many people get to live their dreams — or survive their nightmares. I’m glad that you did both. Thanks for sharing those dreams with us in all of the fabulous books you write, and thanks for letting us know that there is great hope beyond the nightmares.

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          One of the lessons I learned from my son’s accident is that no matter how careful we are, we’re all only an instant away from disaster, and no one is immune. The other lesson is that life goes on, and we have a choice about going on or remaining in the fear. Or, as a character of mine says, luck is what you make of it. :)

    1. SuzeJA
      Thanks for sharing, I got chills hearing about your son but I am so happy for the happy ending..

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          Thanks for reading. :)

    1. BeckyC
      Thank you for sharing your story. My family spends a lot of time on the beach and I have taught my boys to always respect the sea. I cannot truely imagine going through what you and your family have been through. You are blessed with a miracle!I read and reread all your books and have a special love for Wood Hole. After hearing your story, the intensity of my love for Wood Hole (from just reading your books) makes more sense! I have a great desire to visit. Maybe someday.My happy place is anywhere coastal. Most of my coastal getaways are on the Northern California coast. My husband promises me something a little more tropical for our 25th anniversary.

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          There’s just something magical about salt water, isn’t there? Just being able to see it or breathe the salt air makes me happy. I’ve never been to the N. California coast, but I’ve heard it’s lovely.

        1. Sophia
          About tropical destinations, you should try Hawaii or Cook Island! That is the most tropical you can imagine! azur blue water, very hot in the sun but so very beautiful!You are lucky that you live in California! It is my favorite state in all of the states!

    1. Regina Jeffers
      Abigail, as always, you have taken my breath away. Thank you for sharing your story.

        1. Abigail Reynolds
          It was pretty scary putting something so personal up, but I’m glad I did. It was time. :)

    1. Jan Ashe
      whew! the moment you shared the story of your son, my body flushed with goose bumps and I was taken back to day when my son’s 11 year old had his catastrophic accident. For days I could only pray for a miracle. And I too saw God’s hand give him back to me. After a year they were able to reverse the remainder of the damage, and he has been able to live normally since that time. I understand how in the very depths of your being, it changes you. It was months before I could speak about it without tears, years before it became almost painless to talk about. But we do eventually heal enough to move forward.I’m sorry your son still suffers some effects but gloriously pleased at the miracle of his health.I love Pemberley By The Sea (plan to bring my copy to be signed Labor Day lol) and recently started Morning Light as an ebook. So far, it is lovely – still partial to PBTS- but really enjoying ML.Thanks for sharing your story. It reminds me again of how very blessed I am. Not only in all I have seen Him do in our lives, but in the lives of others, and in the life I am able to lead. It’s amazing how much the feelings stirred by the JA fiction writers has enriched my little world.

        1. Jan Ashe
          I meant my 11 yr old son, not my son’s 11 yr old – was a bit flustered …

            1. Abigail Reynolds
              I know the feeling. It was a struggle for me to write about my son for this post, even almost ten years later. It’s a life-changing experience, isn’t it?

    1. Sophia
      Abigail; Woods Hole sounds like a little heaven! I can’t wait to read that book “Pemberley by the sea”!What a miracle about your son! He must have had a lucky day! I am glad that he survived and that he is improving!My favorite place is on the top of Mount tamalpais in California (San Francisco) It is one of the places which gave me the inspiration to write!

    1. Christa
      Abigail,I am in awe of you. How you do it all. Doctor, writer, parent who is obviously very involved in the lives of her children. Thank you so much for the virtual tour of Woods Hole. Your vivid descriptions were so clear, when I looked at the pictures you posted it was exactly as I had imagined. I am so happy to hear you are working on your next books as I wait patiently. It seems that the only time I can find to visit the “Austen Authors” sites is on the weekend. I find myself checking out your site to see when we will have your next book. Thank you so much for opening up your personal story to us all. From personal history I understand how difficult it is. I am not quite there yet.Kuddos for you!

    1. gailw15
      Gosh Abby, you had mentioned your son had some medical issues but I never imagined that nightmare! I am so happy for your miracle! My nephew almost drowned when we were vacationing in Hawaii last year but fortunately there was an EMT on the beach, and while he was unconscious for 24-hours, he hasn’t had any lasting damage. Having endured that incident, my heart aches for what you had to endure with your sweet son.I’ve always adored Pemberley by the Sea and I’m so happy for you that you were able to get your little house by the sea too. It sounds like it was made just for you!

    1. barbiewp
      Abigail, Thanks for sharing your story with us.So glad your son is doing well and you all are growing stronger from the tragedy and the miracle.I have just read ML again . Good story and fun to see all the characters interact. Looking forward to the next ones in the series.Love the pictures. I still get a little sad when I see pics of WH,etc. but most of the memories are good. Hope to get “home” to WH in August. Oldest grandson is getting married! Enjoy your 2nd home and I hope you get to use it often.Greetings from Northern New York where it’s in the 60s. Nosnow country! Barb

    1. Lúthien84
      Thanks for the personal sharing, Abigail. Woods Hole must be really beautiful yet painful to you remembering your son’s accident. And thank you for creating such wonderful characters and setting for Pemberley by the Sea. I really loved it novel and I think it’s time for a reread accompanied by your pictures.

    1. Jennifer Redlarczyk
      Abigail, Your personal story is touching. How wonderful you still have your son, and that he made such an incredible recovery. I’ve read both of your Woods Hole books and was facinated because my first husband Les, who passed on in 1996, did work as a Marine Biologist in Hawaii while working on his PHD in Zoology. (before we were married) At that time he was working on a toxin which was found in I believe the Red Snapper. Anyway, I heard many facinating stories about research and was able to actually visit the lab when we went to Hawaii to visit relatives. Love all of your work! Thanks! A devoted fan. ~Jen Red~

    1. Susan Adriani
      Abigail, I can’t even imagine what you and your family went through, but am so thankful your son’s ordeal ended so happily for all of you. I’m not surprised to hear that The Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice is your favorite. It sounds like it has a very special connection for you. I have yet to read it, but will remedy that soon! Thank you so much for sharing your story – it couldn’t have been easy.

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    • Sheila L. M. on February 4, 2014 at 3:21 pm
    • Reply

    I read it as “Pemberley by the Sea” and have gone back and read it over again. I have vacationed on the Cape when my two brothers-in-law played baseball there in the “70s. Beautiful and quaint in many areas. We boated out to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard and I own a piece of Scrimshaw from before whaling became illegal.

    Now, to your son’s accident: I, too, became very teary eyed while reading about that experience. Thank the Lord, he is almost fully recovered. I do believe in miracles. I own 3 books from true life death experiences: one is a young boy’s as told to his family. I sent the information about how it happened to my two children and their spouses, as they go to the beach and have a one-year old and a 1.5-year old. I never realized that sand castle building had that danger so wanted to make sure they are careful. So your story may have prevented others from the same tragedy.

    Thank you for sharing. I am sure it continues to be a very emotional event to even think about much less put into writing. God bless. And I am so glad you got to buy your house in your dream location.

    1. I’m so glad you sent your children the information about the dangers of sand. I never knew about it before that day.

      It’s hard to disbelieve in miracles when you see one every day around the house. Actually, we’re going on our second miracle now – my son insisted this fall that we adopt the 10 week old kitten with less than 3 weeks to live, and she’s now a happy 6 month old – not long for this world, but she’s having a good life while she’s here.

        • Sheila L. M. on February 4, 2014 at 5:15 pm
        • Reply

        Oh, Abigail, what is wrong with your kitten? You are so good to take her in. I had cats, dogs, etc. growing up but married someone allergic to both so have parakeets, now. Animals are such therapy to so many of us. Always told cats only chose to sit/sleep in laps of kind people.

        1. Snowdrop has major congential heart defects. You can read about her story at https://austenvariations.com/writing-kittens-and-other-miracles. Animals are definitely therapy for me.

    • Ceri on February 4, 2014 at 5:09 pm
    • Reply

    I read TMWLP&P just last week, and very much enjoyed it. I assumed that the lab was a real place you’d worked, it seemed so real.

    If I can ever afford it I’d live by the sea, probably in West Wales. I live in a coastal town in the UK but it’s docks rather than nice beach. It’s still good to be close to the sea though, the smell of it and the sun on the water is like balm for the soul, and I’m lucky that it’s within such easy reach. I’m glad you’ve got your own Pemberley by the sea, like Cassie and Calder did.

    As a parent myself, the part about your son’s accident is scary to contemplate. The human brain is an amazing thing, and I am so glad that he made such a miraculous recovery.

    1. The lab was quite real!

      There’s something special about the smell of sea water and just knowing it’s nearby, isn’t there? I imagine West Wales must be stunningly beautiful.

    • Carol hoyt on February 4, 2014 at 9:47 pm
    • Reply

    Abigail, thank you for sharing such a personal story. I am very glad that your soon is that walking miracle . Ya’ll have truly been blessed.

    My special place, my refuge, is 10 acres of family land in the hills of southwest Mississippi about 20 or so miles from Natchez.
    When I go there, it refreshes my soul. Corny I know but it does take the stress out for awhile .

    I hope to be able to live there full time soon instead of visiting once or twice a year.

    Again, thanks for the window into your world

    1. I hope you’re able to move to your special spot soon.

    • Chanpreet on February 12, 2014 at 9:35 pm
    • Reply

    I heard somewhere that it is the places closest to us that we don’t know the best. I think it has to do with the fact that we take them for granted. Thanks for a look into what move you. 🙂

  1. […] My son and I looked at online pictures and descriptions of their kittens for hours. And hours. And hours. It was the only thing holding him together. My daughter from half-way across the country looked at them for hours too. And both of them picked out Snowdrop as the kitten they wanted. The only problem was she had a grade VI heart murmur – that’s a heart murmur you can feel just by touching the kitten’s side – suggesting congenital heart problems. She was due to have an echocardiogram to assess the damage, but I didn’t want to put the kids through loving and losing another cat so quickly, no matter how adorable Snowdrop looked. When I tried to steer them away from her, my son said, “I think maybe Snowdrop needs us,” which of course just about broke my heart. He has some issues about anyone with a poor prognosis and a touching faith in miracles, which you can read abouthere. […]

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