Dreaming Water: A Novel

Gail Tsukiyama

Macmillan, Apr 20, 2002 - Fiction - 288 pages

Bestselling author Gail Tsukiyama is known for her poignant, subtle insights into the most complicated of relationships. Dreaming Water is an exploration of two of the richest and most layered human connections that exist: mother and daughter and lifelong friends.

Hana is suffering from Werner's syndrome, a disease that makes a person age at twice the rate of a healthy individual: at thirty-eight Hana has the appearance of an eighty-year-old. Cate, her mother, is caring for her while struggling with her grief at losing her husband, Max, and with the knowledge that Hana's disease is getting worse by the day.

Hana and Cate's days are quiet and ordered. Cate escapes to her beloved garden and Hana reads and writes letters. Each find themselves drawn into their pasts, remembering the joyous and challenging events that have shaped them: spending the day at Max's favorite beach, overcoming their neighbors' prejudices that Max is Japanese-American and Cate is Italian-American, and coping with the heartbreak of discovering Hana's disease.

One of the great joys of Hana's life has been her relationship with her beautiful, successful best friend Laura. Laura has moved to New York from their hometown in California and has two daughters, Josephine and Camille. She has not been home in years and begs Hana to let her bring her daughters to meet her, feeling that Josephine, in particular, needs to have Hana in her life. Despite Hana's latest refusal, Laura decides to come anyway. When Laura's loud, energetic, and troubled world collides with Hana and Cate's daily routine, the story really begins.

Dreaming Water is about a mother's courage, a daughter's strength, and a friend's love. It is about the importance of human dignity and the importance of all the small moments that create a life worth living.

Contents

• A Heart of Stone: 3
• In the Quiet: 11
• Fairy Tales: 14
• Werner: 21
• Waterford Maine1958: 28
• Mirror Mirror: 34
• Heart Mountain: 42
• In the Beginning: 54
• Miracles: 59
• Gods Children: 63
• Growing Up: 72
• Sticks Stones: 80
• In Name Only: 85
• The Thunderbird: 91
• The American Dream: 98
• In the Garden: 103
• Another History: 107
• Life Lessons: 111
• Drunken Birds: 113
• Laura: 117
• Ghosts: 121
• My Fathers History: 125
• A Wish: 132
• Dreaming Water: 136
• Everything Counts: 142
• What I Want: 149
• Mistaken Identity: 151
• Out of the Blue: 157
• At the Park: 160
• Trigger: 163
• Driving: 167
• Losing Control: 169
• Winter Bones: 176
• Getting There: 180
• Underwater: 183
• Details: 185
• while Waiting: 188
• The End of the Day: 190
• Reunion: 192
• Strangers in the Night: 196
• Floating: 198
• What I See: 205
• Conversation: 208
• Change: 211
• One Fine Day: 219
• The Light of Day: 225
• The Josephine Rose: 229
• Comfort Food: 232
• Bishops Orchard: 237
• Photographs: 245
• Salvation: 247
• Night and Day: 251
• Games: 258
• Satisfaction: 261
• Full Circle: 264
• Truce: 267
• The Edge of the World: 269
• Bettina Troy: 272
• Sand Castles: 276
• Seascape: 279
• Stopping Time: 281
• Soon Enough: 282
• A Gift: 284
• Starlight Starbright: 286
• God shall add: 288

About the author

Gail Tsukiyama was born in San Francisco, where she later pursued her B. A. and M. A. at San Francisco State University. Tsukiyama is a lecturer at the San Francisco State University and a book reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Tsukiyama has written Night of Many Dreams, Women of the Silk, and The Samurai's Garden. She is also the recipient of an Academy of American Poets award.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Dreaming Water: A Novel
• Author: Gail Tsukiyama
• Edition: revised
• Publisher: Macmillan, 2002
• ISBN: 0312206070, 9780312206079
• Length: 288 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Family Life / General; Fiction / General; Fiction / Women