Big’s days and house overflow. Her husband, Tim, is retired and is looking for ways to fill his days. Her children, Annie and Cam, live at home, along with her mother, Ruth. Nothing seems to get done without Big doing it.
Truth be told, Big is used to caring for others. When she was eight, her parents divorced and her baby sister arrived. After their father left, Big became more than a sister to Lily. With Ruth stepping back, Big stepped up to mother Lily. “Go to your Big Sister” was repeated so often that Bridget became just plain “Big.”
Lily and her husband, Eric, run a very successful store, Sweet Dreams, where they sell products that can help insomniacs capture peaceful sleep. Their inventory includes expensive pillows, high thread count sheets, sleep masks, and white noise machines. Eric handles the nuts and bolts of the business, while Lily, with her good looks and engaging personality, is the salesperson.
When Lily asks to meet for coffee, Big senses that sometime is up. After annoying Big by arriving late, Lily drops the bomb. She suspects Eric is having an affair with, of all people, their part-time employee, Willa. Big immediately morphs into Big Sister mode, trying to fix things for Lily. But Lily’s not ready to deal with Eric and her failing marriage. What she wants is to get away, really away, on a wilderness trip to Alaska. And she wants Big to come with her.
Tim encourages Big to go, telling her he and the children can handle things while she’s away. With Big constantly at everyone’s beck and call, she needs a break, too. After Lily assures Big the trip has experienced guides and will be like a cruise without a ship, she agrees to go.
The vacation gets off to a rocky start. After a 12 hour flight where Lily napped and Big fretted, they land at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Unfortunately, Big’s luggage decided to take a different route to Honolulu. Without any underwear and the careful curated clothing she packed for the trip, Big already feels she’s cursed. Why did she agree to come? But when she observes Lily twisting her hair, she knows why, to be there for her sister.
Jace of Grizzly Tracks Adventures soon finds the sisters and takes them to meet the rest of the group. Dane, an actor is from Los Angeles, Luna and her wife, Mimi, are from Boston, while Ian and his son, Xavier, are from Kansas City. They pile into a decrepit van for a five hour road trip to Chitina Airport where they meet their guide, Brick Malone, owner of Grizzly Tracks. Big receives the first of many shocks when she sees the small plane they will board that will take them to McCarthy, where their camp is located.
Big is ready to pack it in and go home. But despite battling swarms of mosquitos, surviving encounters with moose and bears, and a dunk in freezing waters, Alaska begins to work its magic. Big is out of her comfort zone – and surviving. When she receives calls from home asking her: “Mom, where is my…” she feels no guilt hanging up. Yes, she came on the trip to support Lily, but in doing so, she’s discovering things about herself, too.
Lisa Roe paints incredible pictures with her descriptions of Alaska. I’ve never been and while I wouldn’t sign up for the survival outing that tested both Big and Lily, I would be tempted for one that allowed me to soak up such amazing vistas of mountains, glaciers, and wildlife, especially Big’s fox. But the heart of this novel is the relationship between Big and Lily. Sibling rivalry rears its head, even in the closest, happiest families. At some point in our lives, we all want what the other one has. But as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for. In the end, even Big and Lily have to admit that what they already had – a sisterly bond that was strong enough to survive the toughest times, even in the wilderness – was more than enough.
Big & Lily
Lisa Roe
Top Bigstock photo by superdave
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