A fractured family leaves two sisters struggling for belonging. One gift could change everything.
Every summer, Jessie and Emma leave their suburban home in the Central Valley of California and fly north to Baymont. Nestled among Mendocino's golden hills, with ponies to love and endless acres to explore, Baymont should be a child's paradise. But Baymont belongs to Laurel, the girls' birth mother, whose heedless parenting and tainted judgement cast a long shadow over the sisters' summers---and their lives.
Caught in a web of allegiances, the girls learn again and again that every loyalty has its price, and that even forgiveness can take unexpected turns. Years later, when Laurel asks her elder daughter for the ultimate gift, Jessie must decide just how much to give in the name of love.
Luminous and poignant, Give is the story of one family's troubled quest to redeem the mistakes of the past and a stirring testament to the bonds of sisterhood. **
Review
"Give is a striking, often unflinching, depiction of a doomed marriage and its enduring consequences. Erica Witsell is a very talent writer and her debut should garner a wide and appreciative audience." - Ron Rash, author of Serena and Behind the Waterfall **** "At times subtle and at times cutting to the quick, Give digs deep into the heart and soul of a family as connected as it is torn apart. Give pulls no punches, delivering an honest look into the lengths we will go for family. What we will give and what we won't."-- Amy Willoughby-Burle, author of The Lemonade Year __
"This is an engrossing novel about family and forgiveness. Tracing the lives of five characters over the span of thirty years, Erica C. Witsell shows us that family is about choice as much as it is about blood and that sacrifice and selfishness both play a role in how we parent and love." -- Sarah Viren, author of_ Mine_
"This is a gripping narrative about family, identity, and loyalty. The themes are both uniquely modern and timeless. I fell in love with the characters as they struggled to understand themselves and reconcile with one another. Beautifully written!"-- Kate Rademacher, author of Following the Red Bird **** **". . . Witsell's prose is both lyrical and believable, particularly in her authentic and honest dialogue between women. In its earnest, unrestrained exploration of sisterhood, Give is a groundbreaking approach to timeless themes of loss, love, and loyalty." -- News @ Wesleyan ** **** ****
About the Author
Erica Witsell has a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University and a master's from UC Berkeley. Her writing has appeared in The Sun Magazine, and Brain, Child's online publication. * Give* is her debut novel.
Erica lives in western North Carolina with her family, where she teaches English as a new language and writes a blog about motherhood. She loves mountains, languages, bicycling, and dance.
Visit her online at ericawitsell.com.