The Wisdom of Winter

Summary

2023 Book of the Year in Fiction (Independent Publishers of New England)
2023 Best in Literary Fiction (Independent Publishers of New England)
2023 Finalist in Women's Fiction (National Indie Excellence Awards)
2023 Reviewer's Choice Award (Feathered Quill Books)
2023 Adult Fiction with Animal Theme, 2nd place (Feathered Quill Books)
"A deeply moving novel." (BookView Review)
"Great for fans of Anne Lamott." (BookLife Reviews)
"A book to be savored. A pure delight." (Independent Publishers of New England)
"...passionate, memorable, reflective reading." (D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review)
Tangled influences compel a young girl to hide her true nature until one weekend in her mid-20s when the truths she’s been suppressing call her to a crossroads she can’t avoid.

Insulated from societal mores by her glamorous mother and humble father, six-year-old Beatrice—barefoot in ratty overalls—tunes into animals, senses the unspoken, and thrives. But when tragedy penetrates their rural Vermont bubble, Beatrice is thrust into a world that tells her she has no place unless she hides her depth, pretties up, and falls in line. She complies.

Years later in San Francisco, incongruities in Beatrice's life abound. What’s real is hidden. What’s false is celebrated. She numbs and sidesteps and, despite inner warnings, artfully outruns thoughts of her family, the girl she once was, and the woman she pretends to be. But when a cascade of events steers her back to her childhood home, a discovery in a rundown barn quiets her. In the still point, she sees her crossroads: carry on the known path or step into uncertainty. Her future rests on her interpretation of change. Anxiety and loss. Or hope and renewal. She must decide who she is.

In beautiful, spare prose, The Wisdom of Winter explores the tenacity of misbeliefs, the magic in forgiveness, and the artistry of the natural world in healing the past.