The Ocean Between Us

When I first started this book I thought to myself " Oh no! I am not going to like this as much as I had hoped to!" The first chapter had a lot of Navy jargon, and I was just not interested in it. But, I kept at it, and I am glad I did!

Grace and Steve Bennett have been married nearly twenty years, and have three children in their teens. Steve is a career Navy Officer. Grace is a Navy wife, and mother. Grace has always been very supportive of Steve's career, moving herself and her family, whenever and wherever she had to.
As she approaches her fortieth birthday, Grace realizes that while priding herself in being a supportive, loving wife and mother, she has lost herself. She decides that she needs to find herself. She wants to be more show more than just a Navy wife, and mother. She wants to be herself. She wants a place to call home. Steve doesn't exactly understand her feelings. So, there is some strain on the marriage.

This was a really good book. I started it out thinking I wouldn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would, but actually ended up enjoying it more than I expected to!
This is the first time I have read Susan Wiggs' work. I will definitely read more of her books! show less

I remember seeing photographs and videos of Navy ships coming home to berth and watching the glowing faces of the men and women reuniting after so long apart, seeing the love and longing on the faces and the tearful joining together after a long deployment. Susan Wiggs takes that homecoming even deeper, deep into the psyche and emotions of the participants of that particular play, into the family and lives that it revolves around. Into the darkest places, the empty holes that are left when the ship sails. She shows us first hand what life beholds for a Navy wife, what she has to cope with when her husband is so far away and gone for months at a time. What happens when there’s a ‘mishap” at sea. This is the story of one Navy family show more but it goes deeper than that too because it reaches out to the people they touch and who touch them. This is the story of the Bennetts a career Navy family living like gypsies every few years packing all of their belongings and moving on and moving up.

Grace and Steve Bennett to everyone’s eyes have the perfect marriage, Steve a Commanding Officer and Grace the career Navy wife, along with their three perfect children have moved to Washington State for Steve’s latest orders and settle in. Or do they? Small hairline cracks are starting to show in this perfect picture, there’s secrets hiding ready to make the crack even wider. The question is, is repair possible or is it time to move on.

Susan Wiggs is a most amazing storyteller, not only does she give accurate details about her characters and places they are, but she digs deep inside them and reveals to her reading audience what’s underneath the surface, what makes them tick. The plot to this story has been all too real to us, a service family in crisis. We could easily see it on CNN today or tomorrow or yesterday. Then she gives us a novel full of the most incredible characters ever to grace the pages of a book, characters who’s lives fill us with hope, with joy and love, then there are those who fill us with dread and anger. She dedicates her knowledge of humanity to introduce us to and educate us about those characters. Her hero Steve and heroine Grace are exquisitely described and her readers will turn page after page to eagerly learn the outcome of their tale. Her supporting characters are equally detailed and give meaning and depth to the novel. This is not a romance novel, but it is full of love stories, and they are poignant and heartbreaking and heartwarming, they give us joy and sadness and hope.

It’s easy to see why Ms. Wiggs has such a loyal following. She has a way with words and of telling a tale that is truly magic. I beg you to run and not walk to your nearest bookseller for one of the most heartfelt novels of the year. A must read for the summer and a definite best seller in the making. I am honored to be a fan and if you read this novel, no doubt you will be too, show less

First my disclaimer- I'm a former Army Brat so I loved the setting and plot involving a Navy family. Many parts were familiar to me as I was reading so I was already enjoying the book, the writing and plot were both interesting in Fresh and i enjoyed the differing POV's. The only issue I had was all the Navy jargon in the first chapter was almost a turn off. I had no clue what was happening, but I enjoyed having that chapter where it is in the book. Overall I give this book a solid 4 stars.

The scene that stays with me from this book is the one where she comes out of the commissary and for a moment cannot remember where she is, which base, which house...where? That moment of confusion is something I've dealt with personally and it really resonates with me. A military marriage is not easy, and Ms. Wiggs addresses that with grace and truth.

Like many other reviewers, I was disappointed to discover that this was not a new book, but rather a re-publication, or as I like to think of them, a recycled book. The book was well-written, as we have all come to expect from Susan Wiggs. The Ocean Between Us is in a rather different style from Wiggs' more recent books - though the story centers around a romance, from the outset it is understood that the relationship is in peril. Like always, the characters are well developed, but rather than being grounded in a physical community, like so many of her books, the Navy forms a different type of unifying thread between the characters. All in all, The Ocean Between Us is an enjoyable read, but fans of Susan Wiggs should not expect the show more lightness for which she is so well regarded, but rather a more intricate and emotional portrait of a marriage of long standing. show less

Grace and Steve Bennett have been married for twenty years and they have three children in high school. Steve is a career Naval officer and his career has taken precedence over everything else in the family’s life. They’ve just moved to Washington state and Grace starts to feel the need to put down roots and begins to question all the sacrifices the family has made for Steve’s career.

On the eve of Steve’s deployment, the family finds out some shocking news, so the relationship between Steve and Grace is strained as he leaves. Several things happen while Steve is gone that test their strength, their love and their resolve as a family.

Deep down inside, The Ocean Between Us by Susan Wiggs is a love story. It’s not the story of a show more new romantic love, but rather the story of a deep, abiding love, and I thought it was just wonderful. The book was a quick read, because I found myself so engrossed in the story.

I could relate to Grace so much. Even though Carl’s not in the service, we have moved a lot for his career, and I know what it’s like to pack up, leave friends behind and start all over in a new place. I know what it’s like to set aside your own needs to try to get your family settled and happy in a new place. I also know what it’s like to appreciate all the opportunities those moves afford you – meeting new people and experiencing new places and things. I totally got it when Grace wondered whether giving up her own dreams to pursue her husband’s had been too much of a sacrifice.

I could also relate to the Bennetts’ three children, since my own father served in the Navy. My father retired when I was fairly young and he mostly had shore duty after I was born, but I do remember picking him up after a long deployment on an aircraft carrier, and wondering if I would recognize him when I saw him again. The children also made me think of Vance and the moves he’s had to make throughout his life.

Overall, I liked The Ocean Between Us a lot and what I liked the most about it was the deep sense of love and respect the Bennetts had for each other and the way they learned to appreciate each other. I think Susan Wiggs did a fantastic job of portraying the life of a service family. This book was an emotional read for me – it made me cry several times, especially at the end. It serves as a reminder that when someone is enlisted in the military, their whole family serves and makes sacrifices. show less

I have read Susan Wiggs before a few years ago and I enjoyed it so i was very excited when i found out that i had won this one. I have never read it before so it was new to me.
The book starts out by jumping directly into the Navy jargon and it is a little confusing for all non-navy readers but i thought i caught on pretty quick. The book moves around a lil bit from present, to past , to present again and at first it was bugging me but in about the middle of it I really began to appreciate the way Susan decided to tell this story.
The story had a few little twists and turns that kept you on the edge. A few times I thought I knew exactly what was coming but it went in a totally new direction. Which to me, makes for a great read. I show more thought it was a very good story with well thought out likeable characters and written very well. It's usually not something that i would just pick up and read but i'm so glad that i did.... show less