A Bend In The Road was Nick's FIFTH novel.

Read the Flap of A Bend In The Road

Miles Ryan's life seemed to end the day his wife was killed in a hit-and-run accident two years ago. Missy had been his first love, and Miles fervently believes she will be his last. As a deputy in the North Carolina town of New Bern, Miles Ryan not only grieves for Missy, but also longs to bring the unknown driver to justice.

Then Miles meets Sarah Andrews. The second grade teacher of his son, Jonah, Sarah had left Baltimore after a difficult divorce to start over in the gentler surroundings of New Bern. Perhaps its her own emotional wounds that make her sensitive to the hurt she first sees in Jonah's eyes, and then his father's. Tentatively, Sarah and Miles reach out to each other. Soon they are both laughing for the first time in years. . . and falling in love.

Neither will be able to guess how closely linked they are to a shocking secret -- one that will force them to question everything they ever believed in. . . and make a heartbreaking choice that will change their lives forever.

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.

General Information on A Bend in the Road

WHO

A Bend in the Road was a story inspired by his brother-in-law.

A Bend in the Road tells the story of Miles Ryan and Sarah Andrews. Written in both first and third-person, the primary third-person narrative emphasis is equally split between Miles's and Sarah's stories. The first person narrator remains unknown through the majority of the novel.

WHAT

A Bend in the Road is a love story that tells the story of Miles Ryan, a deputy sheriff, and Sarah Andrews, a teacher. After they fall in love, a secret threatens to destroy their relationship.

A Bend in the Road, Nicholas Sparks's fifth novel, is approximately 94,000 words

WHERE

A Bend in the Road was written in North Carolina.

The setting of the novel is New Bern, North Carolina.

WHEN

A Bend in the Road was written in the summer and winter of 2000, and it was published in the fall of 2001.

The majority of the story takes place in 1988.

THEME

Love and forgiveness.

Genre/Sub-genre

Dramatic Fiction/Love story