Summary What comes after the moment that changes your life forever? This is the question that haunts Julia Bechtel, Noah Prine, and Kim Colella, the only survivors of a horrific boating accident. Julia, a 40-year-old wife and mother, has always done exactly what others expect of her. After her brush with death, though, she wonders if obedience is enough. Feeling strangely connected to the two other survivors — Noah, the taciturn lobsterman who helped save her life, and Kim, a 21-year-old, whose role in the accident, and whose subsequent muteness, are a mystery — Julia sets off on a risky but rewarding search for self. Set on the picturesque Maine coast, The Summer I Dared is a story of survival, of the irrepressible ability of the human spirit to rebound from disaster and make life anew.