Introduction

*A PopSugar Pick of the Best Books of the Month
*A Portland Book Review Pick of the Month
“A rich and resonant family story, a meditative, lyrical, and deeply emotional exploration of heritage, loss, and the profundity of parental love.”-Claire Lombardo, New York Times bestselling author

Willy Cherrymill and his stepdaughter, Lacey, are deeply bruised by a past brimming with unanswered questions. It's been thirty years since May DuBerry, Willy's young wife and Lacey's mother, abandoned them both, leaving Willy to raise Lacey alone.

Lacey Cherrymill is smart, stubborn, and focused. She's also single mother to a young daughter recently diagnosed with a devastating illness. The last thing she needs to think about right now is the betrayal that rocked her childhood. Reluctantly, she has returned to her rural beginnings, a former dairy farm in the Maryland countryside, and to Willy, a man steeped in his own disappointments and all the guilt that goes with them.

Together they will pool their wobbly emotional resources to take care of Lacey's daughter, Tasha, all the while trying to skirt the issue of May's mysterious disappearance. But try as she might, Lacey can't leave it alone. Just where is May DuBerry Cherrymill and why did she leave them, and how is it that they have never talked about the wreckage she left behind?

A Hand to Hold in Deep Water is a deeply felt narrative about mothers and daughters, the legacy of secrets, the way we make a family, and the love of those who walk us through our deepest pain. It is about the way we are tethered to one another and how we choose to wear those bindings. These are characters you won't soon forget and, more so, won't want to leave behind when you turn the last page.

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Discussion Questions

The book revolves around three bodies of water in three locations: Ocracoke Island, The St. Mary’s River, and the farm with its large pond. Discuss the meaning of these locations and the part water plays in the book.

We are introduced to numerous animals in the book. How do the characters’ experiences with different animals, both wild and domestic, affect the characters’ understanding of their own situation.

May is struck by the difference between life on the water and life on the farm and the difference between fishing and farming. At one point she says, “I spent all my life waiting to take what the earth give up, and he spent all his life putting into the earth what he wants to get back.” What does she mean by this and what does her understanding reveal about their relationship and May’s helplessness specifically?


What reason does Willy give for not looking for May? What does Willy finally come to understand about his reluctance to look for her and do you think that says anything significant about how much or the way in which he loved May?

There is a significant age gap between Willy and May. How does Willy both navigate and justify this difference in age when he first meets May and again when he becomes engaged to her.Does his understanding change by the end of the book?

The Prologue takes place eight months before the book opens. In what ways does the prologue foreshadow what happens to Lacey and Tasha a year later and what does the prologue tell you about Lacey and her parenting of Tasha?

Secrets is a predominant theme in the book. May refuses to reveal who Lacey’s father is. Lacey won’t tell Willy her real reason for not marrying Mac or her reason for coming back to the farm with Tasha. Aunt Virgie won’t reveal to Lacey her biological father. Discuss the way these secrets lead to assumptions and misunderstandings amongst the characters.

Lacey decides not to tell Willy about the diary. How does she come to that decision? What did she imagine would happen to Willy if she shared it with him? In what ways does this decision suggest a change in Lacey? Do you agree with her decision?

May’s personal story is told through her diary. Why do you think the author chose to tell us about May through her diary and how does the diary format affect the reader’s understanding of May.

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