Laura Miller

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: The Life We Almost Had

9/27/2017

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READING GROUP GUIDE
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
The Life We Almost Had

In the prologue, we get a description of Sweet Home. What is your first impression of the small town?
When Berlin first sees Iva again after seven years, he’s nervous. Do you think it’s possible to still have the same feelings for someone after so many years?
We don’t know that Iva is leaving for New Zealand when she stumbles upon Berlin again, but she does. Does this fact make her hesitations more reasonable? Would you have been hesitant to start anything with Berlin?
Iva’s father isn’t too keen on Berlin. Can you see his side?
When Berlin takes Iva to the lighthouse on the bluff in Channing, he says he likes to believe it’s Mr. Keeper’s lighthouse. Why do you think this is? Why do you think he has a sentimental connection to Sweet Home?
When Berlin asks Iva to stay and make a life with him, Iva agrees. Would you have made the same decision? Would you have agreed so quickly?
When Berlin proposes to Iva, he also tells Iva her mom’s story about her first love. How does Iva’s mother's life parallel Iva’s life?
When Iva and Berlin tell Iva’s parents that she is planning on moving to Channing with Berlin, Iva says that her father was swayed by the fact that Berlin looks a different way now. What part does appearance play in Berlin and Iva’s father’s relationship? Do you think living in a small town affects her father’s perception of Berlin?
Was Berlin trouble for Iva in his youth or was he just being young?
How does Iva cope with giving up/postponing her dream after she moves to Channing? How would you have dealt with it? Did she finally make the right decision in going to New Zealand?
Did Iva and Berlin try hard enough to make their relationship work after Iva moved to New Zealand? Did Iva give up too fast? Did Berlin? And did they ever really give up?
When Iva sees Berlin at Natalie and Isaac’s engagement party, she questions Berlin about his tattoo. What is the meaning behind the inked word on his arm? What does this say about their relationship?
What do you think it means that Iva chose the art pieces that she did to give to Berlin?
We learn that Berlin had bought a ticket to New Zealand? Would you have done the same—knowing Iva was already engaged?
When Berlin is looking at the painting that Iva gave him, he is thinking about not having to look back on the life he and Iva almost had. Do you think that our paths in life are that close—that one decision can change everything? Or do you believe (like Iva) that it all ends the way it was intended?
Iva tells Berlin that she couldn’t marry Adam. What do you think changed her mind?
Do you believe that second chances, when it comes to love, are all they’re cracked up to be?
In the epilogue, Iva says that she is finally home. What do you think she means by this?

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Thank you!

9/19/2017

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Thank you all so much for your kind words and support and thoughtful reviews ALREADY today! AND THANK YOU for helping to make The Life We Almost Had an Amazon best-seller. It means the world to me! I hope you have a chance to pick up Iva and Berlin’s story, if you haven’t already. And more importantly, I hope you enjoy!

You can find THE LIFE WE ALMOST HAD here:
Amazon e-book ➟ https://goo.gl/WpVU6U
Amazon paperback ➟ https://goo.gl/3jDBA5
iTunes: https ➟ //goo.gl/GaEtK8
Barnes and Noble ➟ https://goo.gl/XYGHRz
Kobo ➟ https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-life-we-almost-had

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╰☆╮IT'S LIVE! ╰☆╮

9/19/2017

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The Life We Almost Had is here!

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Jenn's Virtual Author Event!

9/9/2017

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Join me Thursday, September 14 at 7 p.m. over at Jenn's Virtual Author Event on Facebook! I'll be talking about my books, including my new one, coming in just 9 days!! ALSO, catch all the other amazing authors attending the event, running from Sept. 12-14!

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Cover: The Life We Almost Had

9/5/2017

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In case you were curious about what the full, final cover of The Life We Almost Had looks like, here it is! Berlin's story will be here September 19! And don't forget, you can pre-order the e-book at its special price now on Amazon, iTunes and Barnes and Noble!

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Hurricane Harvey: It Matters

8/29/2017

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I remember the trailers—so many cattle trailers—from neighbors who knew we had animals that needed to get out before the waters came in.
I remember drinking the canned water from Anheuser-Busch.
I remember the Amish and Mennonite men and women (whom we had never met) who traveled from across the country to clean six inches of river silt from our home.
I remember the same Amish and Mennonite men and women who stayed through the winter to build our new home.
I remember the generosity from people in the community.
I remember the gifts that Christmas from the Salvation Army.
I remember the woman from a little town in Massachusetts (who had never met me) who sent me encouraging letters for nearly 20 years after the flood.
My parents had to find a new normal for their family. And some days were hard, especially for them. But today, I am thankful because in 1993, when we lost “everything,” God showed us humanity.

So, if you can, please help those in Texas—in any way you can. It matters. I know. Because it's been 24 years, and it still matters.
#Hurricaneharvey

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AND THE WINNERS ARE ...

8/23/2017

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THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the Goodreads Giveaway! And congrats to the seven winners (Natalya, Brianna, Caitlyn, Joseph, Tracie, Rachel and Hope) who will each be receiving an Advance Reading Copy of The Life We Almost Had! You have been notified and will receive your ARC very soon!

The Life We Almost Had will be here in just 26 days! I can't wait for you to read Berlin and Iva's story. You can secure your copy today by pre-ordering. It's available at a special price in e-book: Purchase!

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FIRST LOOK: The Life We Almost Had

8/22/2017

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We're getting so close! The Life We Almost Had will be here very soon! And today, I thought I'd share with you the prologue. Hope you enjoy! And remember, you can pre-order your e-book copy TODAY at its special price on Amazon, iTunes and Barnes and Noble!
♥Laura

Prologue

My mother always said that a memory can get you through the rest of your life. So, that’s why I don’t know where to begin. Do I start at the beginning of my life or at the memory—where I believe my life might have actually begun?

It’s been years, but I still think of him—just like I still think of that sleepy, little ghost town we both call home. But just like a memory, I guess, both that little town and that boy are now really more like a dream—one that disappears as soon as the morning sun comes slithering through the blinds. But true to a dream, I suppose, it always leaves something behind. And this dream always leaves behind a longing—for Sweet Home, but mostly, for him.

I grew up in Sweet Home, Missouri. I don’t know if I’d call it sweet, necessarily, but it is home, to me. Today, it looks different than it used to. Today, grass grows up out of the cracks in the brittle sidewalks that line Market Street. A short twelve years ago, I used to wheel a roller dog my grandpa gave me down those same concrete walks with ease. And it’s not just the sidewalks. Tall water hemp covers the bases on the baseball diamond in the park. And now, nearly all the storefront windows have plywood boards covering up dark and dusty, empty rooms. And if that’s not enough, where there once were people from birth to ninety-nine spilling out of the old United Church of Christ every Sunday morning, now there’s a no trespassing sign on God’s big, wooden door.

But back in its namesake years, Sweet Home was pretty sweet, I think. I’ve seen old pictures. And people lived in Sweet Home at one time. Happy people. Proud people. There were cars at the filling station and women buying yards of fabric in the general store. There were men along the street, laughing next to big cars and holding wide-eyed toddlers. Every little front yard had bright green grass that was meticulously cut. And all that green grass was fenced in with wrought iron, all the way down the street, each yard just like the last. And every little home along Market had an American flag that jutted out from some part of the house. And every other house had a rocking chair on a little front porch. And in every rocking chair on Sunday, just when the sun was sinking back into the earth, there would be an old man smoking a corncob pipe or a young woman rocking a baby.

But I’m not too familiar with the Sweet Home of then or the one of today, really. The Sweet Home I knew wasn’t booming, but it wasn’t abandoned quite yet, either. The Sweet Home I knew was about the size of a tire valve cap, and all the people who lived inside that cap could be counted on three sets of fingers and toes. But people were happy, and the buildings still held some life.

When I lived there, there was a bar and a post office and a fire station that we’d take cookies to every Christmas Eve. And there were still lights that lined the streets. Some perpetually flickered, but there were lights, all the same. Nearly every summer night we would dance on the asphalt under their light shows and pretend we were rich Hollywood stars.

There weren’t many babies or kids, though. And except for me and the girl who lived across the street, there was no one else my age. The girl’s parents owned the only watering hole in town. She was quiet, and she mostly kept to herself, but we got along just fine. Her name was Angel. And I always thought it was a funny name. Angels glowed and wore halos. Angel did neither. But then there came a day when I changed my mind about that. Angel really was an angel—sent straight down from heaven above to save me—not once, but twice.

The first time was around the year that we both turned eleven. Angel and I were playing hopscotch outside her parents’ bar, and a dirty old Nova pulled up to us and asked for directions to the nearest grocery store. Angel was her usual self and didn’t say a word, so I decided I’d have to tell him myself. He had long, scraggly hair and a crooked nose, but his eyes were kind. I told him how to get to the IGA, but he craned his neck and said he couldn’t hear a word I was saying. He said I’d have to come closer. So, I took a step toward his car, and that’s when Angel grabbed my arm and screamed louder than I’ve ever heard anybody scream before. I flinched, and my ears cracked. Angel had never spoken more than maybe ten soft words at a time in front of me, and here she was screaming loud enough to shatter that old bar’s glass windows. Within seconds, her momma came running out, and the car with the man in it sped away. And all that remained from that quick moment was the red imprint of Angel’s fingers on my forearm.

Two days later, we heard through the grapevine that a guy in a dirty old Nova had tried to pull a young girl into his car in the next town over. She had managed to slink out of his grip—just about the same time that the man had slipped into the grip of the girl’s daddy. And that’s where that story ended—although, there are quite a few rumors that circulated, none of which ended too well for the man ... or his Nova.

I never thanked Angel for saving me. I never really had the chance. The bar closed down the next day, and Angel and her family moved somewhere far away from Sweet Home.

And that was not too long before the rest of the town left, too. Some said it was just time—time for everybody to go. But most said it was because the old hat factory had closed in Holstein, just east of town. It employed most of the people who were left in Sweet Home—those who didn’t make a living plowing dirt, like my daddy did.

As for me and my momma and daddy, we stayed, though. We stayed in our little ghost town, where daddy drove back and forth all day in the fields, planting money, as he called it. And momma kept working part-time collecting antiques and selling them in a little booth down the road.

And life was quiet—just like Angel had been—until the day that he showed up. And that’s actually the second time that Angel saved me. She moved out of that little house across the street, and he moved in. So, the way I see it, Angel gave me him.

From that day and for a while after that, you couldn’t hear the sound of the water dripping in the kitchen sink or the branches scraping across the tin roof above my room anymore. Those sounds were all drowned out by the crack of Clearly Canadian caps hitting the concrete and his laugh and the high-pitched hum of an engine, as his dirt bike made little circles in the bottom land.

That was all I heard, anyway.

But eventually, he left, too. Everyone always left. And we—we just stayed. And in time, it got quiet again—just like Angel. But I still remember that little piece of moonlight he brought into my life. And that’s where I really feel as if my story begins. It begins with that boy I fell in love with, nearly seven years ago, back in Sweet Home, Missouri.

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Seven Chances to Win!

8/2/2017

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SEVEN! You have SEVEN chances to win a SIGNED ADVANCE READING COPY of The Life We Almost Had! Enter the Goodreads Giveaway below for your chance to win one of 7 paperback copies of The Life We Almost Had. US only.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Life We Almost Had

by Laura Miller

Giveaway ends August 22, 2017.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

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And the Winners are ...

8/1/2017

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Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the Goodreads Giveaway. And congrats to Jonathan of Georgia and Anna of California, who each won a signed paperback of The Life We Almost Had. You have been notified and will be receiving those soon! I hope you enjoy!

And even if you didn't win a copy today, you can still secure your copy on Amazon by pre-ordering. And better yet, right now, the e-book is listed at a special price! Happy reading!

♥Laura

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: The Life We Almost Had

READING GROUP GUIDE
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
The Life We Almost Had

Thank you!

╰☆╮IT'S LIVE! ╰☆╮

Jenn's Virtual Author Event!

Cover: The Life We Almost Had

Hurricane Harvey: It Matters

AND THE WINNERS ARE ...

FIRST LOOK: The Life We Almost Had

Prologue

Seven Chances to Win!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Life We Almost Had

by Laura Miller

And the Winners are ...

Follow Me!

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READING GROUP GUIDEDISCUSSION QUESTIONSThe Life We Almost Had

Prologue

Goodreads Book Giveaway

by Laura Miller

Follow Me!

Archives

Categories

READING GROUP GUIDE
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
The Life We Almost Had