Introduction

The beginning of the binge-worthy, powerful, and heart-tugging saga from NYT bestseller Kristen Ashley.

They were the Three Amigos: Duncan Holloway, Imogen Swan and Corey Szabo. Two young boys with difficult lives at home banding together with a cool girl who didn’t mind mucking through the mud on their hikes.

They grew up to be Duncan Holloway, activist, CEO and face of the popular River Rain outdoor stores, Imogen Swan, award-winning actress and America’s sweetheart, and Corey Szabo, ruthless tech billionaire.

Rich and very famous, they would learn the devastating knowledge of how the selfish acts of one would affect all their lives.

And the lives of those they loved.

Start the River Rain series with After the Climb, the story of Duncan and Imogen navigating their way back to each other, decades after a fierce betrayal.

And introduce yourself to their families, who will have their stories told when River Rain continues.

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Excerpt

Prologue
The Meet

Corey

Forty-four years ago…

He stood beside Duncan and watched her go.
And as he watched her flounce away, all mad because Duncan was being a jerk, he knew he could watch her forever.
But she was walking away. They didn’t have forever. He knew that because, even though she was way down the creek before she made that turn into the woods, it seemed like it was all of a sudden that she was gone. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

From the author:

These people live their lives under microscopes. How do you feel about the pressures the personal lives of famous people are put under? Do you think it’s part of the price of success? Or do you think the general public erroneously feels entitled to these areas of celebrities’ lives?

Many male actors have active careers, playing leading roles, deep into their 40s and 50s (and for actors like Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise, in their 80s and 60s). How did it feel when you read about Genny’s career stagnating simply because she’d reached a certain age—an age that is relatively young? Do you think this double-standard leaks into everyday life?

Statistics show that 81% of women report having experienced sexual harassment or assault in their lifetimes.* In this book, Genny ruminates on the #MeToo movement and how the responsibility quickly was twisted to the females, laying blame on them that they didn’t report incidences of sexual harassment and assault. Taking the risk in laying this blame, the possible fallout of that, and in some cases needing to be very public about it, even if their reputations and livelihoods lay in the balance.

How did you feel about the fact Genny expressed she carries some shame for not speaking up? How did you feel when she described how she was threatened with the casting couch, but it was Tom who came to the rescue? Do you feel it should have been Genny who dealt with that situation, even if it meant she might have been blacklisted and effectively her career would have been over?

It’s broadly hinted both Duncan and Corey had significantly dysfunctional upbringings, which produced the same (if still different) type of man: overachieving. As some insights into both men unfolded, did your thoughts turn to how these two chose to live their lives and how they went about making their fortunes?

What effect did Genny’s childhood, that was clearly loving and supportive, have on Genny? How she parents and lives her life? She, too, is highly successful. Did you feel her upbringing had any effect on the person she became and how she went about doing that?

Duncan being forced to hunt a deer altered the path of his life. It drove him to connect deeper with Genny. It informed the kind of father he’d become. And it formed the kernel of what would become his life’s mission. How did you feel when he was telling this story? Did you think, ultimately, it was worthwhile that he went through this trauma because it made him the man he’d become? Or did you feel he would become that man regardless?

Imogen and Duncan get their second chance after being brutally betrayed by someone they both trusted implicitly. After all the time they’ve missed together, what was your favorite part of their reconciliation?


*Source: National Sexual Violence Resource Center

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