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Ben Wakeman's avatar

That Grace is a pistol, as my Texan relatives would say. I’m eager to see what she does next.

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Julie Gabrielli's avatar

😆 Thanks for being here, Ben.

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Susie Mawhinney's avatar

Julie, it feels like much is hidden in Grace's fear in this chapter and I wonder, not for the first time, quite how she will manage to divert attention from her own trauma?

I felt like the proverbial fly-on-the-wall, your dialogue and description are transformative!

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Julie Gabrielli's avatar

Thanks, Susie. I appreciate you!

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Kimberly Warner's avatar

God what a pivotal, revealing chapter. Grace’s younger self, yanked from all she loved— “after he tore her from her grandparents, tore her from Holland Island and the herons and marshes and sunrise breezes” and the way her body responded, a cellular “No” to all she now fights for. This leaves me feeling so very sad for her Julie! She’s buried so much of her longing, to the point where even her tears are only “water leaking.” Wow, you’ve really raised the stakes here. The decades of suppression like a volcano ready to blow.

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Julie Gabrielli's avatar

☺️ buckle up for a bit longer. She’s a fighter.

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Stacy Boone's avatar

Anyone who has had a medical emergency knows this might feel all too real. Great internal and external dialogue.

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Julie Gabrielli's avatar

Thanks, Stacy. I appreciate your notes. 📝

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