The Dive from Clausen Pier by Ann Packer
The Dive from Clausen’s Pier is about relationships ~ how they change and how they change us.
Carrie Bell is a young college graduate who has been dating her boyfriend, Mike, for since she was 15. They recently became engaged, but Carrie is having second thoughts ~ none that she has been able to articulate, though. She just has a nagging feeling that she needs more in her life than settling down in Wisconsin with her childhood sweetheart.
At their annual Memorial Day picnic, Carrie, Mike and their friends head out to their favorite lakeside spot for a day of fun. Carrie is considering how to break it to Mike that she wants out of their pending nuptials. Mike, knowing something is up and in an attempt to catch Carrie’s attention, dives into the water, but things go terribly wrong. He breaks his neck and suffers terrible head injuries.
For weeks Mike remains in a coma. Playing the part of the good girlfriend, Carrie spends hours at the hospital with him, but feels guilt. Her friends all expect her to stand by the injured Mike. His family refuses to believe that he will not recover.
Finally, Mike comes out of his coma, only to acknowledge his own limitations as a quadriplegic. He still faces numerous surgeries and months of rehab. He cannot join his friends on evenings out. Carrie is no longer interested in the party life she enjoyed with her friends prior to Mike’s accident.
One night, however, her friends convince her to join them. She meets Kilroy, an eccentric single male who is visiting from New York City. Something about him catches her interest.
Finally, the pressures of Mike’s illness prove too much for Carrie to bear. She packs her car, complete with her sewing machine (she sews to relax) and heads to NYC, where she crashes with another high school friend, Simon. Simon is gay and feels comfortable being open about his sexuality in New York, where it wouldn’t have been possible in Wisconsin.
Carrie seeks out Kilroy and begins an affair with him. Then she begins to learn about him. He has no permanent job and hangs out in a bar playing pool. Kilroy is 40 years old and is still seeking himself. Carrie learns that he has a troubled relationship with his parents, who are very well-to-do (hence, are underwriting Kilroy’s lifestyle.) Kilroy is unable to make a commitment and is alternating loving and cold to Carrie. He has his own tragedies, as we ultimately learn, that render him unable to move forward with his life.
Carrie enrolls in design school and is destine to succeed, when she receives a call from her best friend, Jamie, back in Wisconsin. Jamie’s message, although very cryptic, is a plea for help. Furthermore, Jamie refers to Carrie as someone who would dump her boyfriend after he breaks his neck. Carrie, whose relationship with Jamie had been altered by Mike’s accident, doesn’t immediately provide Jamie with the answer Jamie was seeking.
After some soul searching, Carrie decides to return to Wisconsin. Carrie is still conflicted and struggling between her needs and those needs of others.
Although most of us aren’t faced with the dilemmas Carrie is confronted with, all of us struggle with relationships as we all grow and change. I was especially drawn to the change in relationship between Carrie and her friend, Jamie. The Dive from Clausen’s Park reminds us that as relationships change, we must take them for the gift they are and know when to let go.
Read: August 29, 2010
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