The Shell Keeper/Quote Outtakes: Chapter Nine

The signs that presage growth, so similar, it seems to me, to those in early adolescence: discontent, restlessness, doubt, despair, longing, are interpreted falsely as signs of decay.

Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

This chapter starts with Claire dealing with, Madison, her client's mischievous child. After a long day of showing homes to buyers who can't make up their minds, they've finally decided on a house. That evening Claire is processing paperwork and polishing off the late night coffee and snack she snagged on the way home at Gwen's bakery. 

The reader is starting to see the toll that Claire's life choices have made on her heart, mind and body. We experience Claire's inner struggle between protecting herself from the bad and ugly of life and the temptation to open up to the good. 

Claire has lived a successful life by the world's standards, but by the standards set forth in Ms. Lindbergh's quote, she's clearly on the cusp of growth...if she can only get over her past...

(Yep...I took the picture and that's Penny snuggled up in the chair, peeking over the top of the page!)