More Than Words Can Say (41 page)

“You know,” Lucy said, “now that I’ve been here at your cottage for a little while, I can understand why you love it so. And somehow, I can sense that a lot of our family’s history was created here, can’t you?”

Chelsea smiled a little as she watched the last vestiges of Brooke’s mementos disappear.

“More than words can say, Mother,” she answered quietly. “More than words can say. . . .”

A+ AUTHOR INSIGHTS, EXTRAS & MORE . . .

FROM
ROBERT BARCLAY
AND

Reading Group Questions for
More Than Words Can Say

  1. In
More Than Words Can Say,
Chelsea Enright inherits several unexpected items from her late grandmother Brooke and they have a profound effect on her. Have you ever inherited something that was so unexpected or potentially life changing? If so, what sort of effect did that experience have on you?

  2. Before going to Lake Evergreen, Chelsea is very doubtful that she will like it there or that she will want to keep the old cottage that she has inherited. However, over the course of time she discovers that she not only loves the lake and the cottage, she is also hungering for a simpler life, and she ends up staying for good. Have you ever wished for a simpler existence in a more rural environment? Conversely, if you live in a rural area, have you ever wished that your life could be more cosmopolitan? Is the grass really greener on the other side of the fence?

  3. When Chelsea meets Brandon Yale, she comes to believe that he is a wonderful man, but she also guesses that he has a very troubled past. Only after his violent confrontation with Pug Jennings does Brandon finally open up to Chelsea and tell her his story. Have you ever had a friend or loved one confess a dark secret to you? If so, how did it affect your relationship? Was it for better or for worse?

  4. Although Chelsea’s lakeside cottage is lovely, it is also quite spartan. The mail is delivered by boat, and the nearest town is some twelve miles away. Additionally, the cottage has no television at all, nor does Chelsea buy one. Would you enjoy spending an entire summer in such a place? Given all the modern conveniences to which we have become accustomed, would that sense of isolation bore you to tears, or would you find it a welcome relief?

  5. After the sudden death of her grandmother, Chelsea decides to go to Lake Evergreen, rather than stay in Syracuse and comfort her distraught mother, as Lucy asks her to do. Which do you think you would have done? Would you have stayed with Lucy and watched over her during her time of grief? Or would you have obeyed the wishes of your late grandmother and gone to Lake Evergreen to unravel the mysteries described in Brooke’s letter?

  6. Rather than tell Brooke’s story to Lucy, Chelsea tosses all of Brooke’s mementos into the fire and watches them burn, keeping them a secret forever. Do you believe that this is what you would have done? On the other hand, would your desire to know have been so great, and your need to inform Lucy been so strong, that you would have shown and told Lucy everything? Like Chelsea, have you ever kept a secret to yourself in order to spare the feelings of a loved one?

  7. At the beginning of the book, Chelsea is far from being the outdoors type. But as the book progresses, and she and Brandon become closer, she finds herself doing things that she would never have imagined otherwise. She flies in Brandon’s plane, learns to drive Brooke’s old speedboat, and hikes all the way to the top of Red Rock Mountain. Have you ever tried new things for the sake of someone you love? If so, did doing these things bring the two of you closer?

  8. Near the end of the book, we learn that although Brandon and Pug Jennings have had a very difficult past, it is Brandon’s idea to hire Pug’s unemployed wife to work with Chelsea at the Blue Rooster. Have you ever performed an unrequited act of kindness for someone with whom your relationship was deeply troubled? If you have, what sort of effect did it have on the two of you?

  9. Although she always believed that she had been happy as an art teacher, Chelsea decides to change direction totally, and she buys the Blue Rooster. Are you happy in your current line of work? Or do you perhaps long to do something different but are unsure about what that might be? Do you believe that you would have the courage and determination to drop everything and start a new life, as Chelsea did?

10. Chelsea also inherits her grandmother’s handwritten recipe book. It is filled with original recipes, many of which are named after Allied World War II leaders and famous American movie stars of the 1940s. Have you ever devised an original recipe of your own? If so, did you give it its own name? Have you tried re-creating any of Brooke’s recipes found in the back of the book? How were the results?

11. By the end of the book, Emily Rousseau has become not only a good friend to Chelsea but also an important mentor. Sadly, our elderly are oftentimes dismissed as useless rather than being respected for their knowledge. Has an elderly person ever taken the time and care to teach you something of value, something that perhaps only he or she could? Was it a valuable experience? Do you still treasure those memories and the time spent with whoever taught you?

12. Part of Brooke Bartlett’s torment stems from the fact that her husband, Bill, is away, training for his future involvement in World War II. Do you have a friend or relative serving in the armed forces who is away at this moment, perhaps even serving in a highly dangerous combat position? If that is the case, as you read the book, did it serve to bring you closer to the character of Brooke Bartlett?

13. As the book progresses, the reader learns about some of the hardships endured during civilian life during World War II, such as the shortages of food, gasoline, alcohol, etc. Do you believe that we present-day Americans take our relative prosperity and ease of acquiring consumer goods too much for granted?

14. Shortly after their wedding, Chelsea asks Brandon to translate the saying in French that he told her the night he described how Mallory had died. Part of that translation talked about how one’s love for another should be “shouted from the mountaintops.” Have you ever been so strongly in love that you, too, felt like climbing a mountain and loudly proclaiming your love for the entire world to hear?

More Than Words Can Say
The Story Behind the Book
by Robert Barclay

As I began writing, I knew that I wanted to incorporate some of my own life’s experiences into this book, along with an authentic sense of history. “Write about what you know!” is the very good advice that hopeful writers often hear. I already knew about lakeside cottages, fishing, boating, and hiking. What I did not know much about, however, was what civilian life was like in America during World War II, the other time period I hoped to use in the book. Luckily, I was able to get some firsthand knowledge on that score, because both of my parents still carry with them vivid recollections of those days.

During the war, my mother’s father was a chicken farmer in upstate New York. Part of his operation was a successful feed store. Although every American was experiencing the rationing of foodstuffs, gasoline, alcohol, etc., because of my grandfather’s occupation, my mother’s family ate very well—provided one liked a steady diet of chicken and eggs! Even so, acquiring most other things remained as difficult for them as it was for everyone else. My mom has oftentimes told me how the chicken feed was regularly delivered to their farm in gingham bags, and rather than throw the bags away, her mother would reuse them to make dresses for herself and her two older sisters. During those days, one did what one had to.

My father’s experience was rather different. A bit too young to be drafted during World War II, he became a likable rogue and literally made his living buying and selling gas ration stamps on the black market. And aside from not having a clubfoot, I am told by my mom that my dad both looked and behaved much like Greg Butler. As I wrote the book, each of my parents continued to give me valuable insight and details into what life was like during World War II and how they dealt with the various hardships of those days.

Sometime around 1966, my mother and father bought a lakeside cottage in Ontario, about a six-hour drive from our home. The cottage was located on a lake called Round Lake, and it is in fact an exact duplicate of the one that Chelsea inherits in the book. Our boathouse, too, was nearly identical to Chelsea’s.

This was where my father taught me how to fish, run a speedboat, and fillet and cook walleyes. And not far from the cottage there lies a high outcropping called Red Rock Mountain, where both the climb and the view from the top are virtually identical to those experienced by Chelsea, Brandon, Brooke, and Greg. I can still remember clambering to the top of that peak nearly every time I visited the cabin. And, just like the fireplace hearth in Chelsea’s cabin that was made entirely of rose quartz rocks, so too was the fireplace in our cabin, its stones also harvested from the vicinity of Red Rock Mountain.

To my great delight, one day while I was visiting the cottage, a floatplane landed on the lake and then taxied down to the cottage next door, where the pilot exited the plane and tied her up at their dock. Hopelessly intrigued, I couldn’t help but wander over and ask about it. The pilot was more than happy to take me for a ride, which immediately sparked my interest in flying. Two years later I got my pilot’s license, which helped enable me to describe Brandon’s flying experiences in the book.

Like Chelsea’s grandmother Brooke, my paternal grandmother, Joyce, was also a gentle, loving, and artistic soul. And like Brooke, Joyce loved to paint. Sadly, I too lost my grandmother around the same time in my life that Chelsea loses Brooke. Since writing
More Than Words Can Say,
I have oftentimes wished that my grandmother had bequeathed to me a secret diary, just as Brooke had done for Chelsea. Sadly, however, that was not the case.

To my great dismay, my parents decided to sell their beloved lakeside cottage in 1985. I can still remember the last time I visited. The windows were boarded up, the boathouse had already been locked and closed, the dock had been pulled ashore, and winter was fast approaching. Knowing that the cottage was being sold, I had gone there to be alone for a few days. I still can remember standing in the living room before that rose quartz fireplace and literally saying good-bye to the place, before I glumly locked the door, put the key in my pocket, and finally drove back home for the last time.

I have often thought that I might inquire about the cottage and try to buy it from whoever owns it now, but the distances involved, and my wife’s busy neuropsychology practice, would make visiting there impractical. Therefore, I shelved the idea, much the way each of us is sometimes forced to lovingly stow away their dreams. But who knows? Perhaps someday I will in fact buy back my father’s wonderful old cottage. Or maybe at least visit there, in an attempt to relive some of my most cherished memories.

But for now, at least, having incorporated that lovely old place into
More Than Words Can Say
will simply have to do.

Addendum:
A Small Collection of Brooke Bartlett’s Personal
Recipes from World War II

These recipes come directly from my old, handwritten recipe book that I had with me at Lake Evergreen during the summer of 1942. In some cases I have upgraded them slightly by incorporating a few modern ingredients that we didn’t have back then, but they all remain true to the original spirit, I promise you. I hope that you will like them!

Yours,

Clark Gable’s Grapefruit Cake

From the moment I saw Clark Gable roguishly smile at Vivien Leigh in
Gone With the Wind,
he became one of my favorite actors. Rumor had it that he had a weakness for grapefruit cake, so when I invented this particular recipe I decided to name it after him. He also joined the air force and fought in the war. Thankfully, he survived the conflict and returned home to make many more such wonderful movies for us!