enchanted august

2 of 6
Enchanted August by Brenda Bowen

The Beach-Trip Pick

In Bowen's debut novel, fellow Brooklynites Lottie Wilkinson and Rose Arbuthnot spot an ad on their children's preschool bulletin board for an "old, pretty cottage" on Little Lost Island, Maine. It's available to rent for the month of August and, though neither of them can afford even half the rent, they're both captivated by the idea of time away from their families. They find two other women to split the costs: an indie movie star still smarting from a public humiliation and an elderly woman coping with heartbreaking loss. As the month goes on, the quartet are transformed by the salt air, lazy days and each other's company, as each woman begins to open up to the possibility that she could affect real change in her life. Listen to it by the ocean, discuss it over cocktails on the wraparound—and let it inspire you to make a few new choices back at home.