Nan (Nanette Everly) – The Heart of One Golden Summer

Overview and Plot Role

Nanette “Nan” Everly is Alice’s eighty-year-old grandmother, a woman of immaculate posture and fierce independence. In the story, her shattered hip during a dance class (“Dancing Queen”) forces Alice to become her primary caregiver, which directly prompts the return to Barry’s Bay—the central setting of the novel. Nan’s depression after missing her Alaskan cruise becomes the catalyst for Alice’s decision to rent John Kalinski’s cottage for two months. Throughout the arc, Nan functions as both a source of wisdom and a mirror for Alice’s own fears about vulnerability and authenticity. Her presence allows Alice to slow down, reflect, and ultimately embrace the risks of love and creative honesty.

Motivations and Personality Traits

Nan is driven by a deep desire to maintain her autonomy and to see her loved ones happy. Evidence from the text shows she guards her independence “like a dragon” (Chapter 2). She dislikes being treated as fragile—she sharply refuses help climbing stairs and bristles at being called a child. Yet she also has a profound emotional generosity: she nurtured Alice’s creative streak from toddlerhood, taking her to drawing lessons and giving her first camera. She makes everyone around her feel seen (explicitly stated in Chapter 2). Her humor and warmth emerge in her banter with Charlie, whom she instantly welcomes, hooting with laughter during their first meeting. However, she conceals a guilty secret for over a decade—a single kiss with John Kalinski eleven years after her husband’s death—revealing a capacity for regret and a need for forgiveness that mirrors Alice’s own struggles.

Character Arc

Nan’s journey moves from vibrancy to despair and back to resilience, paralleling the lake’s restorative power. Before her fall, she was active: taking dance classes, setting her hair weekly, doing crosswords. After surgery, she becomes “crankier” and silent; Alice notes she has never seen her so low. This low point motivates the trip. Once at the lake, Nan slowly revives—first by enjoying Charlie’s pierogi, then by engaging in puzzles and reminiscing. Her true turning point comes in Chapter 32, where she confesses to Alice her kiss with John, unburdening a decade of guilt. This confession not only heals her own emotional wound but also models the courage to be vulnerable for Alice. By the end, Nan regains her spark, even teasing Alice about Charlie, and her final advice—“Good things happen at the lake”—becomes a thematic refrain.

Relationships

With Alice: Nan is Alice’s “biggest champion” (Chapter 2). She identifies Alice’s creative streak, gives her the camera that launched her career, and later supports her decision to bow out of the photography exhibition. Their bond deepens at the lake as Nan’s wisdom helps Alice confront her people-pleasing habits. Nan explicitly tells Alice that she laughs “that big, beautiful laugh” when with Charlie, and that she is “more like yourself” around him (Chapter 26). This observation is crucial to Alice’s self-discovery.
With Charlie: Nan admires Charlie from the start. She calls him a “guardian angel” after reading his detailed letter preparing the cottage. She teases Alice about him, proclaiming “I like him!” and later says, “You’re peas and carrots.” She also holds Charlie accountable—when he hangs up on Alice’s father, Nan scolds him, and he retorts that she’s “old enough to know better.” Their mutual respect grows into a genuine friendship.
With John Kalinski: Nan’s relationship with John is complex. After her husband’s death and Joyce’s passing, she and John shared comfort that led to a single kiss. Nan felt guilty and ended their friendship for over a decade. At the lake, she is initially reluctant to contact him, but Alice’s encouragement—paralleling Nan’s own advice about forgiveness—leads Nan to call John. This reconciliation underscores the novel’s theme of mending past wounds.
With family: Nan dotes on all her grandchildren (Alice, Heather, Luca, Lavinia). She is a stabilizing presence in the Everly family, though she occasionally oversteps, as when she recruits Heather to urge Alice to participate in the gallery show. She learns to respect Alice’s adult choices after apologizing in Chapter 32.

Key Decisions and Consequences

Accepting Alice’s offer to go to the lake: Nan’s initial darkness lifts once she immerses herself in the familiar environment. This decision enables both her own healing and Alice’s transformative summer.
Hiding her depression: Initially, Nan tries to be stoic, which leads Alice to worry and eventually take action. If Nan had refused the lake, Alice might have remained stuck in her burnout.
Confiding about John: Nan’s confession in Chapter 32 liberates her from guilt and teaches Alice that even wise elders have regrets. It also opens the door for Nan to reconnect with John, enriching her final years.
Standing up for Alice: When Alice’s father and sister try to pressure her, Nan lets Charlie intervene but later apologizes for crossing boundaries. This reinforces Nan’s respect for Alice’s autonomy, strengthening their bond.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Nan embodies several central themes of the novel, explored further on our themes page:

Family Bonds and Caregiving: Nan’s injury flips the caregiver role—Alice must care for the woman who raised her. This role reversal deepens their connection and allows Alice to experience unconditional love in a new way.
Healing from Past Heartbreak: Nan’s secret kiss and her loss of her husband and best friend show that heartbreak doesn’t end with age. Her eventual reconciliation with John models forgiveness as a path forward.
Authenticity vs. Commercial Demands: Nan never pressures Alice to conform. Instead, she praises Alice’s creative instinct and supports her decision to withdraw from the gallery show, valuing authentic expression over external validation.
Risk and Temporary Romance: Nan encourages Alice to “let your hair down, do something stupid, do something selfish.” She doesn’t judge Alice’s friends-with-benefits arrangement with Charlie, but she hopes for more. Her own story—one tentative kiss that she regretted for years—warns of the cost of avoiding risk altogether.
Photography and Self-Discovery: Nan is Alice’s original muse. She appears in many of Alice’s early photographs, especially the canoe shot that inspired the lake trip. Through Nan, Alice learns that photography can capture truth (like Aanya’s portrait) or a beautiful lie; Nan helps Alice choose truth.

Nan also symbolizes the past made present. The cottage holds decades of memories—the jar of matchbooks from her husband’s game with John, the curtains she sewed, the puzzle nights. She is a vessel of family history, reminding Alice that roots matter.

Book-Specific Questions and Answers

Why does Nan become depressed after her hip surgery?
Nan’s depression stems from the loss of her independence and the missed Alaskan cruise, but deeper roots are grief over her husband, her best friend Joyce, and her severed friendship with John. The lake trip is intended to cure her “blues,” and it succeeds by confronting those losses.
What is the significance of Nan’s secret kiss with John Kalinski?
It illustrates that even the most virtuous people make mistakes and carry guilt. Nan’s confession allows Alice to see that vulnerability is human, and that seeking forgiveness can heal old wounds. It also parallels Alice’s cautious approach to love: Nan’s fear of betraying Joyce mirrors Alice’s fear of being hurt again.
How does Nan change over the course of the novel?
She moves from a proud, independent elder who hides her pain to a grandmother who openly shares her regrets and embraces help. She reconnects with John, laughs more, and ultimately trusts Alice to make her own choices. She becomes more playful and less guarded.
Why does Nan initially push Alice to participate in the photography exhibition?
She wants Alice to receive recognition for her talent and to reengage with her passion. However, after Alice explains that the chosen photo doesn’t represent her true voice, Nan backs off and says, “I’m proud of you” for knowing your own mind. This shows Nan’s growth in respecting boundaries.
What does Nan mean when she says, “Good things happen at the lake”?
It’s a belief that the lake holds restorative magic—a place where burdens lift and love can bloom. She says it first in Chapter 26 and repeats it in the “Behind the Book” author note. For Nan, it’s both literal (she recovers there) and symbolic: the lake is where she rekindles joy and where Alice finds the courage to love Charlie.

For more discussion points, see our questions and answers page, and for the book’s resolution, read the ending explained.