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    Susannah's Garden
    Susannah's Garden
    Susannah's Garden
    Audiobook9 hours

    Susannah's Garden

    Written by Debbie Macomber

    Narrated by Laural Merlington

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    It was the year that changed everything.

    When Susannah Nelson turned eighteen, she said goodbye to her boyfriend, Jake—and never saw him again. She never saw her brother again, either. Doug died in a car accident that same year.

    Now, at fifty, she finds herself regretting the paths not taken. Long married, a mother and a teacher, she should be happy. But she feels there's something missing in her life, although she doesn't know exactly what. Not only that, she's balancing the demands of an aging mother and a temperamental twenty-year-old daughter.

    Her mother, Vivan, a recent widow, is having difficulty coping and living alone, so Susannah goes home to Colville, Washington. In returning to her parents' house, her girlhood friends and the garden she's always loved, she also returns to the past—and the choices she made back then.

    What she discovers is that things are not as they once seemed. Some paths are dead ends. But some gardens remain beautiful….

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateMay 1, 2006
    ISBN9781423305071
    Susannah's Garden
    Author

    Debbie Macomber

    Debbie Macomber, with more than 100 million copies of her books sold worldwide, is one of today’s most popular authors. Visit her at DebbieMacomber.com.

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    Reviews for Susannah's Garden

    3.5/5

    238 ratings24 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Loved the twists!! Looking forward to more Blossom Street books!
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. First of all, I'm a definite Debbie Macomber fan. I initially 'found' Debbie Macomber through her 1st title in the Cedar Cove Series. While needing to read another title by Debbie Macomber and w-a-i-t-i-n-g for another title in the series to be published, I discovered the Blossom Street Series. I have read these books "out of order" not on purpose - it just happened this way. In discovering that I had not read Book #3, I had it on my wish list and my husband purchased it for my birthday. Finding your favorite title in any series by Debbie Macomber is like trying to eat one chocolate chip cookie. But this is my definite favorite. I couldn't put it down - I'm not used to a Debbie Macomber title having suspense - this one's a page turner but I'm not going to spoil it. It's a must read! I fell asleep trying to finish it last night so this morning I finished it before starting the long list of things yet to be done before Christmas. I had to know the ending. I'm glad I was awake! Enjoy!! :)
    • 1/5
      After reading the first two book in the series I had expectations. I kept reading in the hope it would take off. Where did all the empowered, intellegent women go?
    • 4/5
      Good story about kids growing up and aging parents. However I’m 75 and certainly don’t have a creaky voice.
    • 2/5
      The book was good butthe narration was not. The town is pronounced Colville not Colevile. Ruined it for me
    • 5/5
      Book 3 of 13. Next in series is "Christmas Letters".
    • 3/5
      At 50, Susannah Nelson finds herself regretting the paths not taken. Returning home to care for her mother, she discovers things aren't always what they once seemed, but, some gardens remain beautiful.

      Read slightly out of sequence - it's not a "true" Blossom Street story, but introduces characters who turn up in other, later Blossom Street stories.

      Susannah (this is known as "Susannah's Garden" in the US) is a 50 year old woman, married with two kids, who has just finished another year teaching and is feeling restless and depressed. Her ageing mother is a source of concern, and she travels back to her home town to make some difficult decisions, including searching for her Old Boyfriend Jake

      here's a couple of situations that seem to be purely plot devices - the girl's night out anyone? - and it was a little predictable, but on the whole this is an enjoyable story story that adds to the Blossom Street canon
    • 4/5
      3.75 starsSusannah’s mother, Vivian seems to be losing her memory about 6 months after Susannah’s father died. Susannah hadn’t been home much as she wasn’t close to her father. But, she needs to go home to try to convince her mother to move to assisted living. Susannah’s 20-year old daughter is finished her first year of college, but hasn’t found a job, so Chrissie decides to come help her mom with packing Vivian’s house. At the same time, Chrissie has other other ideas, as she wants to have fun this summer, so when she meets bad boy Troy... It wasn’t fast moving, and I would have rated it good, anyway, but I upped the rating by a 1/4 star for a couple of the twists at the end of the book. I did like this. I preferred the storyline between Susannah and her mother over Susannah and Chrissie; Chrissie seemed more like a drama-queen teenager than an adult. Susannah met up with other friends from high school, as well, and I wasn’t a fan of her friend Carolyn’s romance, as it seemed out of place, but it did end up tying in at the end, as well.
    • 4/5
      A very nice book. Kind of a hokey ending but still nice.
    • 3/5
      Sussanah returns to her small home town in western Washington to put her mother in assisted living, but also to find her first, disappeared true love. Truth isndiscovered and along the way Susannah rediscovers her love for her husband. Good, romantic family story as Macomber always delivers.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. First of all, I'm a definite Debbie Macomber fan. I initially 'found' Debbie Macomber through her 1st title in the Cedar Cove Series. While needing to read another title by Debbie Macomber and w-a-i-t-i-n-g for another title in the series to be published, I discovered the Blossom Street Series. I have read these books "out of order" not on purpose - it just happened this way. In discovering that I had not read Book #3, I had it on my wish list and my husband purchased it for my birthday. Finding your favorite title in any series by Debbie Macomber is like trying to eat one chocolate chip cookie. But this is my definite favorite. I couldn't put it down - I'm not used to a Debbie Macomber title having suspense - this one's a page turner but I'm not going to spoil it. It's a must read! I fell asleep trying to finish it last night so this morning I finished it before starting the long list of things yet to be done before Christmas. I had to know the ending. I'm glad I was awake! Enjoy!! :)
    • 5/5
      I loved the twists in this one. Just when I thought I knew the answer for sure it was the alternative. I am enjoying this series immensly.
    • 4/5
      Wondeful story of the generations. Susannah's mother is becoming less able to care for herself in her family home. Susannah's daughter is finishing her year of college, her boyfriend seems distant, and her future seems bleak. And Susannah's summer off from the classroom doesn't seem adequate to handle everyone's problems - including her own. Why is her ex-boyfriend showing up in her dreams so often? An engaging story by Macomber, as usual. These characters all come to life and their problems matter to you before the story develops much at all. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      Debbie Macomber knows how to tell a good, entertaining story that doesn’t disappoint her readers. In this novel, Susannah is plagued by things that have happened in her past and of what might have been. Couple this with caring for her increasingly forgetful mother and head-strong daughter, it becomes evident that Susannah is headed for some rough times. With a masterful hand, the author pulls us into the story. These likable characters soon seem like old friends and we are eager to discover more about them. With a bit of a mystery thrown in, this tale will keep you turning pages until the very end.
    • 3/5
      This is the third book in the Blossom Street but unlike the earlier two, the story is away from Blossom street and that to me, this is a pre-quel of the the continuation of the Blossom Street in the next book. This book tells the story of Susannah, struggle to relocate her mother to a self assisted complex after the death of her fathr and at the same time, dealing with her own personal issues. It all started when there was recurring dreams of her first love and being back to her hometown doesnt really help her to forget. Hence, she plunged ahead to deal with the issues, by trying to locate Jake.The author has also included hints of mystery in the story where there is mystery of missing things in the house when Susannah is not around and the random placed of messages for her Overall, I find the story entertaining and i m excited to read Book #4 which will take place again in the yarn shop at Blossom street where the series first started off. ;)
    • 3/5
      Susannah Nelson is returning to her hometown of Colville, Washington to help her mother Vivian, who is recently widowed and not coping well. While Susannah's main reason for the visit is to help her mother, she has another reason - to reconnect with old friends, especially her high school boyfriend Jake. Even though Susanna is happily married with two children, she can't help wonder how Jake is doing. What she discovers will not only change her marriage but her relationship with her parents (including her deceased father) and her daughter and change the life of her close friend Carolyn forever. "Susannah's Garden" is a nicely done novel. Author Debbie Macomber focuses mostly on Susannah with some chapters focusing on Vivian and Carolyn. Vivian's story is the most heartbreaking as she mourns her husband and is also becoming very forgetful. Anyone who has had to deal with elderly parents or grandparents will emphasize with Susannah as she struggles to do what is right for her mother. I had less sympathy for Susannah as she risked her marriage looking for Jake, even to the point of hiring a private investigator to find him. Her relationship with her daughter Chrissie is very well done even if Macomber basically repeats the Susannah-Jake plot line with the Chrissie-Troy romance. Carolyn is a nicely developed character and is involved in a nicely done twist at the end of the book. Unfortunately, while the women are well written the men aren't - Susannah's husband Joe has the patience of a saint while Susannah looks for Jake, I wish he had shown some backbone. "Susannah's Garden" is a light, pleasant read - a perfect beach book.
    • 4/5
      Acquired via BookCrossing 21 Oct 2009 - from GillThis was one of the comforting books Gill waved under my nose at the Cafe one Sunday when I was in the middle of a big worrying time. I was allowed to read these out of order of acquisition, when the mood took me...It took a little while to get into this one (oh - it's called Susannah's Garden in the US in case anyone thinks it's a different book!) but I enjoyed the usual multi-generational family relationships, the strong women characters and the celebration of marriage.Susannah feels trapped in her job, her marriage, and now between the demands of her 19 year old daughter and elderly, ailing mother. The need to go across State to care for her mother gives her an opportunity to look up an old boyfriend... who looms large and romantic in her imagination. Meanwhile, her mum keeps "seeing" her dead husband George, and her daughter starts to make the same mistake choosing between a man and her family that Susannah once made herself.I *did* read this out of order, as when I came to choose a book the other day, I only had mysteries and other books I didn't really want to read over dinner. Finished this in the company of a hot bath and Mr Radox (was careful with it) after a day that started with a 9 mile run.This is loosely part of the Blossom Street series, so I will see if the "usual suspects" want a read of it...
    • 4/5
      Debbie Macomber enthralls the reader, yet again, with an intricate heart warming story. Susannah Nelson needs to return to her childhood home to take care of things for her elderly mother, Vivian. Once there Susannah is faced with the decision of what is best for her mother and desire for answers of events in her past. In a relentless search Susannah discovers lost truths about her family and herself. Learning that you can go home again and that she has exactly what she's always wanted and needed.
    • 4/5
      When Susannah Nelson turned eighteen her parents sent her to France to school and she found herself adrift. She also lost her boyfriend and brother that year, one disappeared and the other died. She never felt that she had properly mourned either.Now she's married, with children and her mother isn't well, her father is dead and she has to try to pack up after their lives. She comes to terms with some of the issues from her past and finds out things about herself that she hadn't realised.It's a pretty typical Debbie Macomber, it falls into the world of her Shop on Blossom street series. You learn a lot about Susannah and her past and her issues. This title was published as Susannah's Garden in the US and Old Boyfriends in the UK.
    • 2/5
      I read this one to get some background on Susannah, who may be showing up in "Back on Blossom Street". Compared to the ensemble-cast books of Blossom Street, this one was nowhere near as interesting. Although Macomber spends a little bit of time on Susannah's best friend, Carolyn, and her daughter, Chrissie, most of the story is devoted to Susannah and her search for answers about her late father, her late brother, and her missing high school boyfriend. The pace suffered from having too many directions and too many leads to follow; I wasn't impressed with this one.
    • 2/5
      This book was ok. Filled time.
    • 4/5
      leads intonext Blossom Street book. Good
    • 4/5
      Susannahs journey home to help her mom is a touching story about discovering and reconnecting with her past. Heartfelt and enjoyable read with many different relationships to explore.
    • 3/5
      Susannah moves back to her home town to care for her sick mother and revisits old friends, boy friends, etc. Nice book, nothing real special but enjoyable reading.