The Sandbox  (English, Paperback, Mealiea Laird Wallace)

With the promise of a teaching position, Janis Upshaw reluctantly leaves her family and her home in New Jersey behind and relocates to Florida. Just as she begins to feel settled however, she returns home to attend a wedding and meets Nicholas Constantine, an attractive and successful young associate at Merrill Lynch. What starts as an exciting night of conversation and flirtation develops into a long-distance relationship and eventually a marriage of their own. A number of years down the road, Janis and Nicholas have four children, a beautiful house, and a yearly ski trip to Sunday River and life seems complete. However, what begins as a fairy tale soon changes after Janis and Nicholas are forced to face dangerous ghosts from the past and eventually an unforeseen tragedy looming in the future. Before they realize it, their marriage deteriorates until they become like two children in a sandbox-together within the wooden box, but playing alone in their separate corners. Torn apart by heartbreak, they begin to live bitter and detached lives in which nothing but a miracle can bring them back together once more. This is a story of the fight for marriage and love in the face of adversity and loss. In the midst of deep suffering and misplaced blame, The Sandbox is a testament to the power of love and the depth of the human will and commitment against all odds.