After forgetting their twenty ninth wedding anniversary, Wilson Lewis realizes that he and his wife, Jane, aren't the same people they were when they got married. Countless years of missing family dinners and soccer games for "meetings that ran late" at the office have finally caught up to him as he sees that his wife has fallen out of love with him and is seriously considering leaving. He is a man unable to express his emotions and when he starts to feel the weight of his actions push down on his unstable marriage, he panics and becomes desperate for a way to prove to Jane that he cannot live without her. Wilson's in-laws, Noah and Allie Calhoun, who were initially introduced in one of Sparks' previous and very popular novels The Notebook, provide for him an example of what a relationship should be; they've been married for over fifty years. He uses Noah and Allie's relationship as a guide to help him find a way to win Jane's love again, even though he feels that he may have already caused too much damage to repair.
While all of this is going on, Wilson and Jane's daughter, Anna, becomes engaged. Wilson sees this as the perfect opportunity to show his wife how much she really means to him. After discussing it with Anna, they decide to deceive Jane into thinking that Anna and her fiancée have chosen to have their wedding very quickly - in just a few weeks. Jane is surprised by the decision and is a bit apprehensive about the idea, but knows that she has to bite her tongue if she wants to be included in the wedding plans. Anna and Jane begin to plan the wedding, and Anna agrees with almost every suggestion Jane makes. While she makes a mental note of it, Jane doesn't really pay much attention to this. However, Anna and Wilson know something that Jane doesn't know - Jane is planning her own wedding. The question is, though, will Wilson have the courage to pull all this off? And will Jane take him back, or leave him anyway? Is this gesture enough to make up for all the things Wilson has done wrong over the last thirty years?
Discussion Questions:
1. If you were Jane, a married woman left to bring up her children because her husband became consumed by his work; a woman who gave up on her marriage long ago because the pain was too much to deal with, would this gesture be enough to forgive your husband?
2. If you were Wilson, how would you feel knowing you were the reason for your own wife's suffering? Does this gesture seem appropriate to you? If not, what would you do to win back her affection and prove to her that it won't come to that again?
7 comments:
Mary! I didn't read this one yet but I want to but I did my blog on a Nicholas Sparks book and commented on 2 last week so I have to keep my streak haha.
Anyways to answer number 1 I don't think the wedding would be enough for me to completly forgive my husband but I think it would be a great way to start rebuilding thier relationship.
To answer question 2, i think the gesture is appropriate, but not nearly enough to win her back. I think its going to take a lot more for him to prove he can change.
In response to question 2, I agree with Kali. In my eyes, the wedding wouldn't be enough to fully win his wife back. I do think that this gesture would jump start their unstable relationship and set them in the right direction again. Although Wilson comes up with the idea, it doesn't seem like he is very involved in planning this surprise. Which is why I think that it isn't exactly enough to win Jane back right away. But it definitely shows that Wilson is ready and willing to try to win Jane back.
Regarding discussion question # 1, I think that that gesture would prove to me how my husband truly does love me. If Wilson did not love Jane at all, he probably would not have noticed his wife's suffering in the first place. And even if did realize how his wife felt, if he did not love her like he does, then he would have probably just ignored the situation completely. I think this gesture would change their relationship forever and their new love for each other would be strong and meaningful.
To answer question 1, I think it would be enough for me to forgive him. Obviously, they were in love at one point and this is just renewing that love and showing that he truly does care. At least, I'm sure with this gesture, I would begin to forgive him and we could work on the relationship; it would be a good start.
My answer to the first question would be that it would be enough to forgive him but not enough to repair all of the damage. He would still have a lot to do to get back to a healthy relationship but it would be a good enough start.
Well if I were a girl it would definitely be enough for me. It's not like he's an abusive or mean guy, he's just busy supporting his family. The whole problem is him not showing he loves her. Therefore renewing his vows as a surprise openly shows he still loves her so that should be enough.
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