Miles Ryan’s life seemed to end the day his wife, Missy, was killed in a hit-and-run accident two years ago. In the novel “A Bend in the Road” by Nicholas Sparks, he is tired of being alone, of waking up in an empty bed, of being an only parent to his young son who needs his mom. Miles thought he would die of a broken heart when Missy was killed. She had been his first love, and he fervently believed she would be his last. As his town’s deputy sheriff, he wants so badly to bring the driver that killed his wife to justice. “A Bend in the Road” is a romantic novel that questions what it means to be a husband, lover, and father.
After Missy’s death, Miles was obsessed with finding the one responsible for killing her. He believed that both as her husband and a sheriff’s deputy, it was his number one priority to keep her safe, and he just couldn’t take the fact that he failed at the one job he thought he could do best. Miles is lonely and depressed, the result of his world being turned upside down for two horrible years. Then, the world seems to turn right side up again when he meets Sarah Andrews.
Sarah Andrews, a second grade teacher to his son Jonah, moved to New Bern, North Carolina from Baltimore after a difficult divorce. Drawn together by Jonah's school troubles, Sarah and Miles reach out to each other. Soon they are both laughing for the first time in years . . . and falling in love. The most significant date is when they go on the town's Ghost Walk and listen to a ghost story about a couple who lived in war times. The couple were forbidden to see each other, however, they communicated through the use of candles, which signified that they missed and loved each other. Everything seems to be going perfect for once.
There is just one thing standing in the way of the pair’s happiness, and that is the unsolved case of Missy’s death. When a new lead emerges, Miles once again immerses himself in the facts, questions, and speculation that has haunted him for over two years. His unyielding quest for the truth and the unexpected answer threaten to shatter the deep bond forged between Miles and Sarah.
Miles’ life truly is a rollercoaster, from having depression from a terrible loss to suddenly falling in love, and then having heartbreak all over again. In “A Bend in the Road”, Nicholas Sparks writes with a luminous intensity about life’s bitter turns and incomparable sweetness. His affirming message carries a powerful lesson about the imperfections of being human, the mistakes we all make, and the joy that comes when we give ourselves to love.