Beyond That, the Sea

A sweeping, tenderhearted love story, Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash tells the story of two families living through World War II on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and the shy, irresistible young woman who will call them both her own.

As German bombs fall over London in 1940, working-class parents Millie and Reginald Thompson make an impossible choice: they decide to send their eleven-year-old daughter, Beatrix, to America. There, she’ll live with another family for the duration of the war, where they hope she’ll stay safe.

Scared and angry, feeling lonely and displaced, Bea arrives in Boston to meet the Gregorys. Mr. and Mrs. G, and their sons William and Gerald, fold Bea seamlessly into their world. She becomes part of this lively family, learning their ways and their stories, adjusting to their affluent lifestyle. Bea grows close to both boys, one older and one younger, and fills in the gap between them. Before long, before she even realizes it, life with the Gregorys feels more natural to her than the quiet, spare life with her own parents back in England.

As Bea comes into herself and relaxes into her new life―summers on the coast in Maine, new friends clamoring to hear about life across the sea―the girl she had been begins to fade away, until, abruptly, she is called home to London when the war ends.

Desperate as she is not to leave this life behind, Bea dutifully retraces her trip across the Atlantic back to her new, old world. As she returns to post-war London, the memory of her American family stays with her, never fully letting her go, and always pulling on her heart as she tries to move on and pursue love and a life of her own.

As we follow Bea over time, navigating between her two worlds, Beyond That, the Sea emerges as a beautifully written, absorbing novel, full of grace and heartache, forgiveness and understanding, loss and love.

These book club questions are from the publisher, Celadon. A full book club kit can be found here.

Book club questions for Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

Imagine you were Bea’s parents, living in London during the war. Would you have sent your child to America?

How would you feel if you were the family accepting a young girl from another country into your family? Submitted by New Virginia Library Book Club (New Virginia, IA

How did the passage of time in the novel affect your reading experience? What about the multiple character perspectives?

Why do you think the author included Millie’s and Reginald’s perspectives rather than focusing on only Bea and the Gregorys?

The Maine house plays a significant role in the Gregorys’ lives. What does Maine represent for the three children? Does it change as they grow older?

Living in London during the war was much different than living in Massachusetts. How did these two distinct settings impact the characters and their choices?

We see Bea grow into a teenager, a young adult, and finally, a 30-year-old. What changes did you notice in her personality over the years?

During the war, Ethan and Reginald take up correspondence and begin playing chess via postcards. Was this connection a surprise to you? Why do you think the author built this friendship?

Even in the beginning, there was a distance between Beatrix and her mother, Millie. How much of the distance in Beatrix’s adult life do you think is because Reginald, her father, let her think it was Millie’s decision to send her away to America? Do you think the relationship would have been different if Beatrix had known the truth much earlier? Submitted by Noon Book Group (Bluffton, OH

Beyond That, the Sea Book Club Questions PDF

Click here for a printable PDF of the Beyond That, the Sea discussion questions