(80)The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D. by Nichole Bernier

The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D.

by Nichole Bernier

@nicholebenier

Publication Date: June 5, 2012

Pages: 320

Buy it Here!

2002 was a rough year for a lot of us.  The world was trying to adjust to a post-911 world and everything that entails.  For Kate Spenser, she was mourning the loss of her friend, Elizabeth.  Elizabeth was killed in an unrelated plane crash, but it was close enough to the events of September 11th, that the feelings co-mingle for Kate.


She takes the Summer of 2002 to regroup.  Retreating to the island getaway she has visited for year.  This year she has Elizabeth's journals to keep her company.  For Elizabeth left a locked trunk full of a lifetime of journals to Kate. Not to her husband or children, but to Kate.  And while that move has baffled all of those involved, Kate is taking it very seriously.  She spends the Summer reading the journals and realizing that there was so much about her friend that she did not know.  She did not know that Elizabeth had a Sister that died when they were young, and she blamed herself.  She did not know that Elizabeth studied art at NYU.   And so much more.  As she reads about Elizabeth's life, she starts examining her own life in a way that has needed to be done for sometime, now.


The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D. was an incredibly poignant read.  Reading back through Elizabeth's journals with Kate was emotional for both Kate, and myself - the reader.  The choices we make have such an impact on our whole lives and nothing illustrates that more than Elizabeth's stories.  But what it came down to in the end for Elizabeth was the choice she made to keep the biggest secret of her life from everyone.  Including her husband, Dave.  To me that was the saddest part of the whole story.  The fact that she felt she could not tell her Husband or her best friend about the secret that was eating her alive.


I think Nichole Bernier has written the first "Must Read" beach book of the Summer.  I think it is one to stick in your bag, take to the beach and then contemplate your own life altering choices as you gaze out over the water.  Lots to think about with this one!