Outside the Lines

A Novel

By: Amy Hatvany

Narrated by: Candace Thaxton, Corey Brill

A gripping novel about a woman who sets out to find the father who left her years ago, and ends up discovering herself.

When Eden was ten years old she found her father, David, bleeding on the bathroom floor. The suicide attempt led to her parents’ divorce, and David all but vanished from Eden’s life.

Twenty years later, Eden runs a successful catering company and dreams of opening a restaurant. Since childhood, she has heard from her father only rarely, just enough to know that he’s been living on the streets and struggling with mental illness. But lately there has been no word at all. After a series of failed romantic relationships and a health scare from her mother, Eden decides it’s time to find her father, to forgive him at last, and move forward with her own life. Her search takes her to a downtown Seattle homeless shelter, and to Jack Baker, its handsome and charming director. Jack convinces Eden to volunteer her skills as a professional chef with the shelter. In return, he helps her in her quest.

As the connection between Eden and Jack grows stronger, and their investigation brings them closer to David, Eden must come to terms with her true emotions, the secrets her mother has kept from her, and the painful question of whether her father, after all these years, even wants to be found. The result is an emotionally rich and honest novel about making peace with the past—and embracing the future.

Good Story. Solid Read

Where does Outside the Lines rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the middle. I t was interesting and a good read. Not fantastic or horrible. Just a good book.

I really liked it!!

I loved this story. It was super sweet and I couldn't stop, I just wanted to finish it in one sitting!!

Wonderful real life novel about mental illness

If you have a mentally ill family member, this novel will get to you..my mother in law was Bi-Polar. The effect of her disease impacted my husband his entire life-I totally understood Edens need to make her father better, to guide her father, to find the dad she wanted to have but didn't.

Spectacular writing, it made my heart hurt as I listened. Narration effective but Thaxton isn't a great narrator..still I couldn't stop listening.

A good war for someone who isn't familiar with the impact of mental illness on a family to discover its reality..

Well worth the credit.

The Agony and the Ecstasy

This is a well written novel about loving someone who suffers from a mental illness. I appreciated the realistic dilemmas faced by both the person living with the mental illness and the ones who loved him. How does one support this person without trying to control him? How does a person love one with a mental illness and not lose herself in the chaos? Does medication help or does it create as many problems as it is supposed to be solving? The book was beautifully narrated and executed. The story in no way sugarcoated the issues involved in living with mental illness but the characters were not without hope or sprinkles of joy. It was a satisfying read.(listen.)

Very thought provoking

It made me look at mental illness in a different way. Good character development. Sad story but very real.