Barbara's Comments "The challenge in this book was in creating a complete, complex character when that character, the heroine, is comatose for most of the story. My publisher was wary, as was my agent. But I never doubted that it would work. I knew that the picture painted by Rachel's daughters, her friends, and her art would be thorough and rich.   "I loved writing this story. It was a departure from my other writing in many ways ... written from a male point of view, set in California (as opposed to New England), making use of flashbacks. At its heart, though, it is the story of getting back to what's important in life. That's a familiar theme of mine. " Coast Road is special in one other regard. Katherine, Rachel's best friend, is a breast cancer survivor. The amazing response of readers to this feisty and successful woman led to my non-fiction book, Uplift: Secrets From the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors. I will be forever grateful to Katherine for that."