Genre: Literary
Fiction/LGBT
Description:
“Hayden Hill has always felt most comfortable with his hands in dirt,
nurturing life. He designs natural spaces for others and comes home to his back
yard, where he seeks refuge amidst the fruits and vegetables, flora, and
shade-giving trees. When he finds himself suddenly a widower, his garden
becomes the resting place for the ashes of his wife, Shelly, and he’s thrown
into an unexpected vortex of pain, shock, and guilt. As Hayden struggles to
survive the torment of each day and keep his landscaping company functioning, a
directive in Shelly’s will leads him to the discovery of a shocking secret.
Fighting to find a path through the weeds of grief, Hayden meets his
wife’s secret connections and becomes involved helping local, homeless teens
cast out by their families for choosing to be who they are. Rocked by this
newly discovered, complicated facet of Shelly’s life, he begins to question
their marriage, her identity, his past choices, and whether anything he
believed about his wife was ever true.”
Author:
“Cassondra Windwalker earned a BA of Letters from the University of
Oklahoma. She's the author of nine novels and three works of poetry who does
her best to keep fed the menagerie of stray critters, cryptids, marooned
kelpies, and lost specters. Born and raised on the red clay, she's wandered the
sticky corn fields of the Midwest, the frozen seas of the Wild North, and
frequently rests her wings where orange skies meet purple mountains.”
Appraisal:
The description and even the title of this book hint at some things at
the heart of the story. In order to avoid spoilers, I’m not going to expand on
any of the specifics, but will say I found this book to be an incredibly great
and in many ways inspiring. The author of the book works through some difficult
discoveries in the wake of his spouse’s death. It’s a difficult time for him,
but in the end, he grows as a person and learns a lot that will help him in the
future. As a reader, it might get you thinking as well. I wonder how I (or you)
would deal with things if you found yourself in the same situation.
Buy now
from: Amazon US Amazon UK
FYI:
A small amount of adult language.
Format/Typo
Issues:
My review is based on an ARC (advance reader copy) so I can’t judge
the final product in this area.
Rating: *****
Five Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words
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