{"product_id":"the-pleasure-was-mine-tommy-hays-9780312339333","title":"The Pleasure Was Mine","description":"\u003cp\u003ePrate Marshbanks proposed to his future wife on a muggy July night at Pete's Drive-in back in '52. \"She said yes to me between bites of a slaw burger all-the-way.\" A college graduate and daughter of a prominent lawyer, Irene was an unlikely match for Prate, a high school dropout. He lived his married life aware of the question on people's minds: How in the world did a tall, thin, fair-skinned beauty and one of the most respected high school English teachers in all of Greenville County, in all of South Carolina for that matter, wind up married to a short, dark, fat-faced, jug-eared house painter? That their marriage not only survived for fifty years, but flourished, is a source of constant wonder to Prate. Now he faces a new challenge with Irene. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the author of \u003ci\u003eIn The Family Way\u003c\/i\u003e, a novel the Atlanta Constitution called \"an instant classic\" and the \u003ci\u003eCharlotte Observer\u003c\/i\u003e praised as \"a lovely, moving book,\" comes a powerful story of hard-earned hope. \u003ci\u003eThe Pleasure Was Mine\u003c\/i\u003e takes place during a critical summer in the life of Prate Marshbanks, when he retires to care for his wife, who is gradually slipping away. To complicate things, Prate's son, Newell, a recently widowed single father, asks Prate to keep nine-year-old Jackson for the summer. Though Prate is irritated by the presence of his moody grandson, during the summer Jackson helps tend his grandmother, and grandfather and grandson form a bond. As Irene's memory fades, Prate, a hardworking man who has kept to himself most of his life, has little choice but to get to know his family. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith elegance and skillful economy of language, Tommy Hays renders an unforgettable character in Prate Marshbanks. \u003ci\u003eThe Pleasure Was Mine\u003c\/i\u003e is at once a quietly wrenching portrayal of grief, a magical and romantic story about the power of love, and an unexpectedly moving take on the resilience of family.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Tommy Hays\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 031233933X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780312339333\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e St. Martin's Griffin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/21\/2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 5.40w x 0.70d","brand":"Tommy Hays","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43990136258815,"sku":"9780312339333","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_e4b80545-bf9e-4988-b1d7-f9a092d840f6.jpg?v=1683303206","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-pleasure-was-mine-tommy-hays-9780312339333","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}