Introduction

Behold A Rainbow is A must-read for women's book clubs, this is the story of good people facing hard challenges. Breast cancer. Alcoholism. Infertility. This sequel to the prize-winning novel The Sandpiper tells the story of the three Cameron women waging their individual battles with both fear and courage. Despair and hope. Tears and laughter. Readers will walk the tough walks with them rooting for them from page one to the end.

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Excerpt

JAMIE

1998

Chapter 1

“You’re not ready, Jamie.”

“I’m going, Ann—with or without your approval.” Jamie felt the dampness begin along her hairline, the air in the small office close. Barefoot, her long legs Indian style in the armless chair, she took a long pull on her water bottle, wondering how people ever got used to the desert. It was smoldering in April.

Jamie studied the incense burning in the open jar on Ann D’Amato’s desk trying to resist the silent pull of the social worker’s dark eyes. ‘Lemon or sage?’ she distracted herself. She held back as long as she could stand it, then raised her eyes to meet the older woman’s. Ann’s lips were pressed together, one hand resting on a closed manila folder in the middle of her desk. Her black reading glasses dangled on a silver chain around her neck.

Mrs. D’Amato hadn’t needed to read the chart to get ready for this morning’s exit interview. The social worker knew all about Jamie Cameron. The ceiling fan whirred overhead. Well, no. Not all. Jamie absently rubbed the tiny scar on her left ankle with her other foot.

“Jamie, you’re so close. Before he left Dr. Summers told me—“

“No.” Jamie shot her arm up like a traffic cop. “You’re not my therapist, Ann. You have no right.” Jamie thrust her legs straight off the seat and began swinging them back and forth.

“I am your caseworker, Jamie, and Dr. Summers thought it was important enough…”

Jamie jumped off the chair and shoved her feet into the black Birkenstocks, smacking each one hard against the wooden floor. “I need to finish packing. Thanks for all you’ve done.”

“Dr. Summers did not give me details, of course. That is privileged,” the woman with short grey hair continued in her soft, monotone. Jamie didn’t move. Since she’d first walked into this office over three months earlier, Jamie had been gentled by Ann’s calmness.

“Jamie, my dear,” Ann leaned forward on her elbows, “post-traumatic …”

“Bullshit!” Jamie cut her off, stung by the betrayal. view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

1. How does the prologue’s opening with the Viet Nam War affect you?
2. Do you find any foreshadows in the prologue? If so, what?
3. Water plays a thematic role in The Sandpiper. Can you give some examples?
4. Why do you think Chapter 1 begins in April? And why in the desert? Does it remind you of anything from Chaucer? T.S. Eliot?
5. Sibling rivalry is accepted as a normal fact of human behavior. Could you relate to any of the conflicts between Kate and Jamie?
6. How much did Jamie’s PTSD have to do with her alcoholism? Would she have become an alcoholic/addict had that not happened?
7. Politically and personally, abortion is a highly sensitive and divisive topic. How did you feel it was dealt with in the novel?
8. Do the literary allusions enrich the novel or distract from the story?
9. If someone asked, what would you say The Sandpiper is about?
10. How important is the setting?
11. Do any of the main characters change through the course of the novel? If so, who? How do they change?
12. Why did the writer tell the story from the two sisters’ points of view? Why not from Aunt Nina’s?
13. Did you learn about anything you didn’t know before you read The Sandpiper? If so, what?
14. What does Pogo contribute to the plot?
15. What did you think about the ending?
16. Would you be surprised the author is writing a sequel?
17. Would you want to read it or did you like the ending as it is?
18. What is the significance of the novel’s title?
19. Did The Sandpiper affect your attitude toward people who have alcoholism and/or addiction? If so, how?
20. What did you find out about infertility you didn’t know before?

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»	Book Review from Sharon's Garden blog

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