Looking for a digital beach read? What could get you closer to the sight of shore birds and the sound of breaking waves than this story told in six episodes, written by someone who lives on beautiful Fripp Island, South Carolina? Okay, I only live there part-time right now, but one day soon I hope to call it my one and only home.
Who hasn’t dreamed of what it would be like to live at their favorite vacation spot? Those who strive to make it happen eventually get caught up in the reality of it all, and it’s seldom what they expected, sometimes better, sometimes… well, not so good.
What are the Diaries about? The Rush family wants to make their vacations their vocation, turn one lifestyle into another, and they find lots of unexpected challenges along the way.
Episode One ~ Getting Away
Jordan Rush has arranged a relaxing long weekend with her family, but it doesn’t go as planned. She and her husband, kids, and pets all land at her parent’s Hilton Head condo to discover unexpected challenges that could change all their lives.
Jordie is used to making decisions for her Atlanta-based family and her business. Now she feels a need to support her parents in a trying time for them, and she impulsively takes on more than she and her husband bargained for.
Getting Away is the first episode in a series about a family that winds up wanting to make their vacations their vocation. Read the episodes in sequence for the best reading experience. The heart of the story takes place on Fripp Island, South Carolina, but the location represents many sites and forms of vacation getaways that draw us from our day-to-day responsibilities toward alternate ways of life.
Episode Two ~ Part Timers
Change has begun to flow like a tide in the Rush household. Every single person in Jordan’s circle is affected by it as she tries to ease into a hybrid sort of role as hands-off caregiver to her parents, and to manage her Atlanta-based business from afar at the same time.
No longer homeschooling her children and while her husband Reyland assumes more parental responsibilities, she finds the time, makes the time, to be closer to her stoic mother and ailing father. New people come into her life, her island life, while unexpected troubles brew at home in her absence.
Part Timers is the second episode in a series about a family that winds up wanting to make their vacations their vocation and finds there might a price to pay to get what they think they want. The heart of the story takes place on Fripp Island, South Carolina, but the location represents many sites and forms of vacation getaways that draw us from our day-to-day responsibilities toward alternate ways of life.
Episode Three ~ Deeper Water
Jordan Rush is wrapping up household duties with her husband and children at home and preparing to get on the road again to visit her parents. Her father’s dementia is progressing, and the Rush family is getting pulled deeper into his and her mother’s challenges.
On this trip a holiday event pulls them all together, ruminating and advising each other on the upcoming stages of their lives. Jordan relents to take on a high-profile business opportunity and who knows where that will lead her, and all of them?
Deeper Water is the third episode in a series about a family that is drawn deeper and closer to a beautiful vacation community, and how it changes all of them. The heart of the story takes place on Fripp Island, South Carolina, but the location represents many sites and forms of vacation getaways that draw us from our day-to-day responsibilities toward alternate ways of life.
Episode Four ~ Bucket List
Always juggling things to keep some order amidst the chaos in her life, Jordan Rush decides to hire some domestic help so she can do even more. Her business in South Carolina is consuming her time and attention. She makes new friends on the island when they help her avert a family disaster. Her husband Reyland is holding a new secret of his own. And Jordan’s folks drop some new surprises on her family.
Bucket List is the fourth episode in a series about a family struggling to adapt to changes in their lives. It seems to never end as they hold their own secrets and reveal them in half truths. The heart of the story takes place on Fripp Island, South Carolina, but the location represents many sites and forms of vacation getaways that draw us from our day-to-day responsibilities toward alternate ways of life.
Episode Five ~ Changing Plans
Now an official part-time resident on the island, Jordan tries to make family stays there feel like home. Reyland is pushing back, wanting to job hunt on familiar territory. The truth begins to come out about their individual wants and needs, and they decide on a new way to deal with their issues together. But have their paths already diverged too far?
Changing Plans is the fifth episode in a series about a family that challenges their own status quo. Sometimes they make it work, and sometimes they don’t. The heart of the action takes place on Fripp Island, South Carolina, but the location represents many sites and forms of vacation getaways that draw us from our day-to-day responsibilities toward alternate ways of life.
Episode Six ~ Full Timers
Even with most details of their family move resolved, surprises keep coming to the Rush family: some good, some awfully bad, and all with long-term implications. All they can do is keep living their lives. Yes, they do go on.
Full Timers is the final episode in a series about a family that relocates to a new environment: heart first, head next, then with all the rest they can bring along. It takes place on Fripp Island, South Carolina, but the location represents many sites and forms of vacation getaways that draw us from our day-to-day responsibilities toward alternate ways of life.
