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Back The Summer Cottage
Chapters (75)
  1. Cover
  2. Back Cover Text
  3. Praise
  4. Booklist
  5. About the Author
  6. Dedication
  7. Quote
  8. Prologue
  9. Part One
  10. ONE
  11. TWO
  12. THREE
  13. Part Two
  14. FOUR
  15. FIVE
  16. SIX
  17. Part Three
  18. SEVEN
  19. EIGHT
  20. NINE
  21. TEN
  22. Part Four
  23. ELEVEN
  24. TWELVE
  25. THIRTEEN
  26. Part Five
  27. FOURTEEN
  28. FIFTEEN
  29. SIXTEEN
  30. SEVENTEEN
  31. Part Six
  32. EIGHTEEN
  33. NINETEEN
  34. TWENTY
  35. TWENTY-ONE
  36. Part Seven
  37. TWENTY-TWO
  38. TWENTY-THREE
  39. TWENTY-FOUR
  40. TWENTY-FIVE
  41. Part Eight
  42. TWENTY-SIX
  43. TWENTY-SEVEN
  44. TWENTY-EIGHT
  45. TWENTY-NINE
  46. Part Nine
  47. THIRTY
  48. THIRTY-ONE
  49. THIRTY-TWO
  50. THIRTY-THREE
  51. THIRTY-FOUR
  52. Part Ten
  53. THIRTY-FIVE
  54. THIRTY-SIX
  55. THIRTY-SEVEN
  56. THIRTY-EIGHT
  57. Part Eleven
  58. THIRTY-NINE
  59. FORTY
  60. FORTY-ONE
  61. Part Twelve
  62. FORTY-TWO
  63. FORTY-THREE
  64. FORTY-FOUR
  65. Part Thirteen
  66. FORTY-FIVE
  67. FORTY-SIX
  68. FORTY-SEVEN
  69. EPILOGUE
  70. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  71. AUTHOR NOTE
  72. Reader’s Guide
  73. Questions for Discussion
  74. The Heirloom Garden
  75. Abby
  1. The Summer Cottage was inspired by the author’s family’s beloved family cabin, where he spent childhood summers with his grandparents. Do you have a summer cottage? What memories does it hold, and what does it mean to you? How long has it been in your family? Do you intend to pass it along? What are your favorite quirks or items in your cottage?
  2. The Summer Cottage is also inspired by and set in the author’s beloved, real hometown of Saugatuck-Douglas, Michigan. Do you live in a resort town, or vacation in a favorite place every summer? What memories do you have there? What emotions does it evoke when you arrive?
  3. In The Summer Cottage, each chapter is centered around a “cottage rule.” Do you have rules—funny or real—for your home? What are the importance of rules in our life? How do they help us? How do they hinder us? Do you think we have too many rules in society, or too few?
  4. Do you still spend time with your family? What does that mean to you and them? Are we losing that connection?
  5. Adie Lou, the main character in the novel, wants to recapture not only the dreams she had growing up but also the person she was. Do you have dreams that never materialized? What were they? What stood in the way of those coming true (children, mortgages, illness, caring for your parents, money, divorce or just plain old bad luck)?
  6. A main theme in the novel is the importance of home and history. As Adie Lou renovates her summer cottage, she uncovers a fascinating history about Sadie, a young woman who lived in the cottage in the late 1800s. Does your summer cottage or home have a fascinating history? Share.
  7. Sadie’s history is fraught with sadness and tragedy, as her young life has already been predetermined for her by men. Adie Lou’s life and career has also been influenced by men. Has your life or decisions ever been influenced by men in a negative way? How so (divorce, equal pay at work)? How have women and women’s rights changed over the last century? How have they not?
  8. Another theme in the novel is friendship and how hard women can often be on one another. Adie Lou has a best friend in Trish and a rival in Iris. Who is your best friend? Share some stories. Who is or has been your rival? Why were they your rival? Did you ever make amends or come to an understanding?
  9. Paralleling the author’s own life, Adie Lou quits her secure full-time job to become an entrepreneur. The author quit a secure job with benefits to become an author. Are you an entrepreneur? What do you do? How did you do it? If not, have you ever considered becoming an entrepreneur? What would you do? What is driving you toward that goal, or what is hindering you from making it happen?
  10. The Summer Cottage is about believing in yourself and giving yourself second chances in life, be it in love, at work or at home. Do you believe in yourself? Why or why not? Have you given yourself a second chance at something in life? Are you thinking of “restarting” your life or your dreams? How and why?
  11. Running themes in the author’s novels are respecting and sharing our family histories, honoring our elders, holding on to our heirlooms and cherishing our past, pain and all. Are we losing those connections today? Why or why not? What are ways you share your family history, honor your elders, utilize heirlooms or cherish your past? Discuss.
  12. What are your favorite beach reads? Which authors seem to capture summer for you?