The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Weiner, Jennifer. That Summer: A Novel. Atria Books, May 11, 2021. Kindle.

In That Summer: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner, Diana Scalzi Carmody’s life was destroyed when she was raped when she was 15 years old. More than 30 years later, Diana’s life was disrupted again when she saw a photo of her rapist and learned his name. In the midst of the #MeToo movement, Diana decided she had to stand up and face her attacker. As she confronted her rapist, as well as the other two men involved in her assault, Diana learned how difficult it can be to find closure and assign reparation to a crime for which there is really no recompense.

At 15, Diana believed she was finally experiencing romance when a boy who had just graduated from the prestigious Emlen Academy paid attention to her. During the final party of the summer, however, Diana was raped by the boy she knew only as Poe. Because Diana believed it was her fault she was raped, she told no one what had happened. Her grades dropped in high school, and she failed out of college. A custodial job was all she could manage until she was offered the use of a cottage on Cape Cod during the winter.

Diana met and married Michael Carmody, the caretaker for the cottage, in Cape Cod. Michael recognized she had been hurt and was willing to take their courtship slowly. Diana told him what happened to her. He convinced her that the rape was not her fault and she deserved to be happy.

Years later Diana saw a picture of Henry “Hal” Shoemaker in a house on which Michael was working and recognized him as the man who raped her. Using an Emlen yearbook, she was able to identify Brad Burlington as the boy who held her down when Hal raped her and Daniel “Danny” Rosen as the boy who had watched and done nothing. Even though Diana thought she had come to terms with her sexual assault, she felt she needed to confront her attackers and make them understand what they had done.

Diana first approached Brad. She discovered Brad was an alcoholic with two failed marriages. He admitted what he had done was a terrible thing and that he had done it only because he wanted Hal to like him. Diana told him she wanted him to live with the knowledge of what he had done to her. Days later, Brad died by suicide. Diana believed she was responsible for his death and wondered if she should confront the other two men.

Diana concluded that the situation women faced would change only if people who had been assaulted were willing to stand up to the men who had assaulted them. Diana decided to try a different route to approach Hal about the rape. She made up an identity and befriended Hal’s wife, Diana “Daisy” Shoemaker. Diana was surprised by how much she liked Daisy and her daughter, Beatrice, once she became familiar with them. She was shocked to learn Danny was Daisy’s brother. Even though he witnessed the rape, he had allowed his sister to marry Hal.

Diana’s false identity unraveled when Daisy attempted to surprise Diana with a gift at the apartment in which she believed Diana lived. When Daisy confronted Diana with the lies she had discovered, Diana told her the truth. Diana was unaware that Daisy had been seeing inconsistencies in Hal’s behavior ever since his friend, Brad, died. Daisy was shocked by Diana’s claim that Hal had raped her, but at the same time had sensed Hal was hiding something bad in his past. She confronted Danny who reminded her that he has asked her if she was sure about marrying Hal. He also said he had told their mother what Hal had done. When Daisy visited her mother, she understood that her mother had been aware of the rape even though she tried to deny the seriousness of what had happened.

Daisy arranged for Hal to meet with her and Diana at Diana’s cottage. While Daisy and Diana waited for Hal to arrive, Diana told Daisy the story of her rape and how she had identified Hal. Daisy shared with Diana that she believed Hal had intentionally limited Daisy’s life by discouraging her from having friends or doing anything. When Hal joined them, Daisy told him she wanted a divorce.

Daisy and Beatrice moved to Cape Cod. One day as Beatrice was paddle boarding in the bay, she was approached by a boy. She talked to him. When he asked if she wanted to hang out with him, she told him she was just starting her run and might join him later.