There are many moving scenes in Lucy by the Sea. Which ones stayed with you, and why?

There are many moving scenes in Lucy by the Sea. Which ones stayed with you, and why?

P. 39. " Who knows why people are different? We are born with a certain nature, I think. And then the world takes its swings at us" Now, that is deep!

P. 277, "And there they were, my beautiful daughters. By the duck pond were my two girls. But they were never really mine." I loved this scene and appreciated how much it reflected Becka and Chrissy's love for their mother. During this visit both daughters are open with Lucy about their concerns related to their father's trustworthiness, now that William and Lucy have resumed a romantic relationship. I was very touched by the daughters care and concern for their mother-and though they may not really be hers-I believe their thoughtfulness is a clear reflection of values Lucy instilled in them. I admire Lucy in how selflessly she thought about parenting. Becka and Chrissy are biologically her daughters, but to Lucy that fact did not mean she "owned them" like possessions. She recognized her role as a mother was to raise them to be their own unique selves. It seems that by respecting her daughters-she, in turn, was respected and loved by them.

I was moved throughout the book by the many examples of Lucy growing up without
love or support from a family. The one instant when Lucy's brother tells her he loves
her and her response was that no one in her family had ever said that to her before.

Lucy’s brother telling her he loved her on the phone, undoubtedly knowing that he might not survive his bout with Covid. And he didn’t. “Petie” seemed the one truly knowable character in Lucy’s life.

I particularly liked the scenes of friendship between Lucy and the woman who works at the nursing home where Olive is. I found her acceptance of the woman’s opposite political views to be unusual for Lucy. So many times in the novel, Lucy is very judgmental of others who don’t see the world through her own eyes.

The confession Lucy made about not helping the elderly gentleman in line at the grocery store (pp. 114 - 116) was poignant. She was compelled to change places with him and give him her closer place in line at the store, but did not. She then witnessed another woman do what she did not do for the man. She mentions that she learned something about herself that day, "...About myself and people, and their self-interest. I will never forget that I did not do that for that man."

The scenes of Lucy with her daughters. Particularly the one of Lucy and Becka in the park and Lucy is frightened by Becka's lose of weight, but more so by her lose of three babies. She knows that Becka is on the verge of having an affair and talks to her about why this would be a bad idea. Lucy is so open and honest with Becka and with herself.
Another scene is earlier in the book when Lucy expresses her feeling about death and why the first year after the death was hard, but the second year is even more difficult. And how she feels now in the second year of being alone.

The scene with Lucy talking to her brother who has Covid. He eventually die from Covid but the interaction was tearful for me.

I think I loved this book because there are many moving scenes. One that hasn't been mentioned yet in this discussion is on page 211 when Lucy thinks about how "everything in nature started from the same color." This is a really interesting thing to think about as I see leaves changing in October in Charlotte, North Carolina. But on a deeper level, it also speaks to how much we have in common with 'others', with people who are different nationalities, different religions, different races, different socio-economic groups. It's important to remember that I think.