Meet Me at the Lake

Fortune establishes the connection between grief and tenderness through Fern as she works through grief over her mother, surrounded by scenery that reminds her of her childhood. Throughout the narrative, Fern regularly recalls memories of her life at Brookbanks Resort, showing her sentimental attachment to the place and the life she shared with her mother on the lake. These memories help Fern grow a new appreciation for the resort as she views it through older, wiser eyes.

Chapter 1 begins six weeks after Fern’s mother’s death and Fern’s takeover of Brookbanks Resort. Fern describes “a procession of grief, anger, and panic” when she wakes each morning (8). She’s spent these six weeks sleeping poorly and meandering through her daily grief. Fern wonders: “What was she thinking by leaving the resort to me? What was she thinking by dying?” (7). Fern struggles to understand her mother’s choices. Her anger at returning to the resort and her struggle with her mother’s death are tied to one another. However, once Fern begins working at the resort and visiting nostalgic locations, her appreciation for the resort grows and she begins to deal with her grief.

Fern’s choice to revisit her mother’s diaries after all this time is a way for her to mourn her mother and connect with her again. She thinks about how she and Maggie were getting their relationship back on track, and “feels like I lost her just as we’d begun to find each other” (96). Fern continues to read the diary entries throughout the novel, showing her willingness to engage in emotional tasks to help herself heal.

Another important breakthrough in Fern’s grief comes in Chapter 17, when Fern goes swimming off the family dock. Fern reminisces about all the mornings she spent with her mother drinking coffee and eating breakfast before school on the same dock. Fern recalls one of the most recent times she and her mother sat on there, when Maggie told Fern that Fern’s “heart’s too big for just you” (203). Fern realizes this is true and decides that she’s going to stay and run the resort permanently. Her willingness to reminisce and feel tenderly about the resort and her relationship with her mom gives her the clarity she needs to realize she wants to run the resort full time. Whereas Fern’s grief previously made it difficult for her to make decisions about the resort, Fern’s nostalgic feelings about the resort and her mother’s legacy heal her grief.

When Fern reads the final diary entry in Chapter 23, she unearths one of the roots of her grief: Fern is unsure if her mother knew how much Fern loved her. Will’s confession—that he told Maggie “how much [Fern] loved [the resort]” and that it made Maggie happy (25)—eases Fern’s grief, as she feels the closure she needs. In Chapter 28, Fern has healed enough to express emotion in the form of renaming the resort restaurant to “Maggie’s.” Fern also explains, “[W]hen I miss her most, I find myself wandering down to the family dock. I sit on the chair […] and update her on everything that’s happening” (301). Fern’s healing journey demonstrates that engaging with emotion can be a source of healing and balm for a grieving heart.