National Network for Equitable Library Service

Lightning-struck and pregnant, Ruth feels her husband slipping away after they-and unborn Gayle-miraculously survive the bolt out of the blue. Nineteen years later and stuck on the farm her husband bought before abandoning the family, painting is the only activity invigorating Ruth as the days slowly pass. That is until-without warning-Gayle finds herself love-struck and runs off to Edmonton, where she contends with poverty, illness, her shattered childhood, and the longstanding mystery of her father's disappearance. Meanwhile, farm-bound Ruth frantically paints through her increasing loneliness and disarray. In his stormy and evocative debut novel, Kevin Holowack introduces us to a family grappling with artistic ambition, mental illness, and rifts that may not be possible to mend.