I am not usually one to read romance novels and enjoy them but have to give it to Carley Fortune that Meet me at the Lake is a beautiful read. As someone who loves to read and write, I loved the world of Fern Brooksbank at the backdrop of Muskoka lake. It is a relatable tale of love, longing, separation, of responsibility and courage.
What I most love about it is this - its hard to build a world where every character has their own quirks, you can relate with and have gone through a journey of their own along with the main characters. It feels like this world has lived a life, that it's not just something on paper but has dimensions, feelings and is well, alive. And the writer in me, just admired how this novel made me laugh and feel so many emotions. Its a journey of a Fern Brooksbank, a young girl who grew up at a resort which her mother inherited from her family. Her single mother, Margaret poured her soul into running the resort after Brook's father left them. Fern, growing up and seeing her mother constantly pulled into work, wanted to carve a different life for herself, so she went to complete her college in Toronto and did a part time gig in Two Sugars where she met the young Will Baxter.
Their meeting leaves a deep imprint in both their minds. Sometimes we meet people for only a moment, and their opinions, completely change our lives. Spending a day together, they affirm to meet the next year, with an update of their respective 1 year life plan that they made together. Cut to one year later, and Will doesn't meet Fern even though she waits for him to show up.
Fern, is like all of us. The kid who wants to carve her own identity but does not know where to start. Will meets her teenage self and like a breath of fresh air in her chaotic life, inspires her to do her own thing and live life on her own terms. He is passionate about his art and wants to start his own comics one day. But, destiny had its own plans & lets them on a journey of their own.
What I love about this book is, each character has gone through their own journey of self reflection, confusion & contentment. Will, even though wants to create a career in art and dint want to be an MBA grad, ends up doing so for his family and his responsibilities to them. His sister becomes pregnant and without her boyfriend, she & him have to raise a child all on their own. We also get to know how his childhood was rough with his mother leaving them and their strained relationship with their father.
Fern, although happy with her job, has had a failed relationship and only arrives at the resort to help around and sell it after her mother's passing. But it's only after involving herself with day to day affairs of running the resort and her mother's journals, that she started to truly connect & define her bond with the resort. The resort is a living embodiment of her mother's love and her memories with her and she could see why she should keep her legacy alive.
Even though they wanted different things, both Will and Fern end up finding something that they truly enjoy over time. Their choices aren't made on a whim but with balance and hard-work to make them happen. They both did something for their family, but in the end they wrote their own story and made their own choices without making responsibilities become a tether to their happiness.
I also loved Peter's character. He has seen Brook's grow up and works as the pastry chef at the resort. Peter, loved Fern's mom and even though they never got married, his fondness for her changed him. He helped raise Fern's, almost like a father figure & made sure he spent time with Fern. Music was their love language. His relationship with Fern and her mother is one of love, of courage and of being selfless. It reminded me that love does not need to have a destination always. It can live in the small moments, in the little joys and care.
And finally, Will and Fern meet after 10 years to get the resort back on track. They work together and end up falling for each other. But due to a family accident Will leaves suddenly without warning and it's like Fern's worst fears comes true. Old wounds which were buried deep down came back to haunt her. Even though she professionally started turning things around at the resort, her heart couldn't put together hope once more for the way he left her.
I love how she stands up for herself. Loving someone should not mean you forget to love yourself. It could be the hardest thing you do but when someone does this, you need to do what's right for you. But once she gets to know why he left, she fights for him.
I read in some of the reviews that he left her years ago and now he does the same 10yrs later, so why should she fight for him now? Shouldn't he? I wondered about this question when I read that part but one needs to understand the dynamics of this. It wasn't ego or apathy that led to that. He was running because he couldn't face her after everything. He knew his family needed him and in the past when he tried being there for them, it hurt his relationships. Guilt and obligation made him retreat into his own shell. Why does that happen? Because for so many years he was the one who had to run everything. He paid his bills, put himself through an MBA, got a job and supported his sister and her child. He couldn't depend on anyone. Thats a lot to juggle especially when you are all of 22 years old.
The other thing was, he gave up creating art. Just like his mother, he would get lost in his art not noticing people around him, like his mother and when his own sister mentioned he was uncaring like their mother, he felt like he was abandoning his family, something their mother did. Now this is what I think - every human being is on their own journey. Some of us learn that we are not our parents, that we are better but the process is not easier because these are difficult traumas to deal with. But I also believe circumstance end up shaping us too. He could have trusted Fern with all of the messy details of why he left but in all his past relationships, no one understood. No one tried. So how could he know that she would? It would have been a leap of faith, and if not reciprocated, would have hurt him even more.
It's very easy to throw the blame at him. After all, he is 32 years old. Should have known better etc. But it's not that simple, is it? Healing is not a linear process. It takes time, effort, self reflection and I daresay, even luxury. The luxury to not to have to pay the price of obligation. When you are the person who is depended upon, where do you go when you want to break into a million pieces? It's not like you can just how your vulnerability. You also need a support system that can hold you through it.
I admire that through everything, Fern fought for him and laid down her boundaries very clearly too. She understood his fears and stayed not without making it very clear on how she deserved to be treated. That shows heart and a person who loves herself enough to also make room for one more.
I leave you, the reader with this final nugget- it is that even the slightest courage can shift your life story. Your relationships. Your emotional landscape. The courage and willingness to fight is what makes new beginnings possible, no matter the time and struggle it takes.
