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Her Nowhere
Anna Broxton’s marriage to the top Tommy John surgeon in the West and their idyllic ranch life in the Flathead Valley of Montana makes most women envy her. That is, until one simple moment changes her family forever.
Unable to bear the presence of her once adored husband, she abandons her life and finds "her nowhere" a small organic farm on the Southern tip of Sweden. There, she tills the soil, plants seeds, learns to pickle cucumbers, and fights her attraction to a younger man.
Her unlikely friendships with two unique women awaken her to suffering other than her own and help her face her part in the tragedy. She returns home to find her husband has found his own nowhere and must fight for whatever love remains in the gaps of their shattered family.
Her Nowhere is a tearjerker about relationships and what they can survive—if we let them. It is appropriate for book club discussion about our own unique tragedies, how we respond to them, how they shape us, humanitarianism, organic farming, and the imperfection of motherhood.
Unable to bear the presence of her once adored husband, she abandons her life and finds "her nowhere" a small organic farm on the Southern tip of Sweden. There, she tills the soil, plants seeds, learns to pickle cucumbers, and fights her attraction to a younger man.
Her unlikely friendships with two unique women awaken her to suffering other than her own and help her face her part in the tragedy. She returns home to find her husband has found his own nowhere and must fight for whatever love remains in the gaps of their shattered family.
Her Nowhere is a tearjerker about relationships and what they can survive—if we let them. It is appropriate for book club discussion about our own unique tragedies, how we respond to them, how they shape us, humanitarianism, organic farming, and the imperfection of motherhood.
Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2012
20 people are currently reading
228 people want to read
About the author
Brigetta Schwaiger
1 book4 followersHi, I’m Brigetta, author of Her Nowhere and the soon-to-be-released Where Promises Break. I write stories about the strength it takes to start over, the bonds that hold families together, and the quiet beauty of small-town life.
My work has appeared in Mamalode and Grown & Flown, and I was lucky to be part of the original mom-blog wave back in the early 2000s, when we were all just figuring out how to tell our stories online.
I live in the breathtaking state of Montana with my husband of 30 years, our four amazing sons, two wonderful daughters-in-law (yay, girls!), a loyal dog, and one remarkably resilient turtle who’s been part of the family for longer than I can remember.
When I’m not writing, you’ll probably find me outside, breathing in mountain air, watching a baseball game, or soaking up those little moments that always find their way into my stories.
My work has appeared in Mamalode and Grown & Flown, and I was lucky to be part of the original mom-blog wave back in the early 2000s, when we were all just figuring out how to tell our stories online.
I live in the breathtaking state of Montana with my husband of 30 years, our four amazing sons, two wonderful daughters-in-law (yay, girls!), a loyal dog, and one remarkably resilient turtle who’s been part of the family for longer than I can remember.
When I’m not writing, you’ll probably find me outside, breathing in mountain air, watching a baseball game, or soaking up those little moments that always find their way into my stories.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 28, 2012
WOW, I LOVED this book, I couldn't put it down. My heart went out to the main character, Anna, from the very beginning of the book, knowing that she had gone through a horrible, life altering experience, but not knowing exactly what had driven her away from her husband. When the reason was finally revealed, it was far worse that I had imagined and my heart went out to this character again. I could not imagine going through that kind of pain or trying deal with that type of mind/heart shattering tragedy, yet the way the Anna dealt with her pain and grief was heartbreaking and moving at the same time.
I really felt for Anna when she finally forgave herself and felt strong enough to reach to her husband, Kai, only to find that he wasn’t as strong as she thought and how she realized that not only did he have to deal with their shared tragedy, but he also had to deal with her abandonment and try to move on with his life without her.
I read on an average of 3 to 6 books a week, and after a while the story lines and characters tend to blend together, but not this book and not these characters.
I really felt for Anna when she finally forgave herself and felt strong enough to reach to her husband, Kai, only to find that he wasn’t as strong as she thought and how she realized that not only did he have to deal with their shared tragedy, but he also had to deal with her abandonment and try to move on with his life without her.
I read on an average of 3 to 6 books a week, and after a while the story lines and characters tend to blend together, but not this book and not these characters.
May 22, 2012
My friend and author, Brigetta Schwaiger wrote Her Nowhere .... I enjoyed every heartfelt moment of this read.
May 29, 2012
Love this book. One of my all time faves.
May 23, 2012
Good Book~!
June 2, 2018
This is a story about how organic farming saved the world.
Wait. It isn’t?
According to the "Book Group Discussion Questions", this is essentially a love story. I guess in a way it is true; through the people around her, Anna has to learn how to love herself again, and how to carve a place into her life for the husband she’s left behind but still loves. But that story got buried deep underneath a layer of ever returning praise of organic farming, and it kept me from connecting to it. It wasn’t, excuse the pun, included organically in the story at all; instead, it felt like organic farming propaganda. It started to really irritate me after a while.
Granted, it wasn’t just the organic farming. I think parts of what kept me at a distance was the way the book is written. It’s all very clinical, very detached. Plus there is a huge emphasis on people’s looks – from Kai telling her that if she had been ugly, he wouldn’t have agreed to help her, to Anna commenting on her mom’s ‘lovely figure’.
And there was an undercurrent of racism that made me very uncomfortable. At one point, she talks with a guy on the phone, and she “imagined he was a big, black man” (…what?), a woman who won’t listen to her must be ignoring her because “she appeared to be very white, very English speaking”, and of course the one absolute villain in the story is “a large man who looked Samoan, with black eyes and a shaved head”. Stereotypes abound all over, such as the Irish guy on the farm who calls her “lass” every other sentence.
Anna got on my nerves so much. She is so incredibly self-centred. I can’t fault her for running away when her life fell apart; that made sense. But even when she was getting better, when she was healing, when she set out to try and get back the life she’d lost, she still only thought of her own pain, her own tragedy. And when she’s looking to others, it’s with so much judgement in her eyes.
I liked a lot of the side characters, though. Lena’s quiet strength and Clara’s youthful resilience really made the first parts of the book for me. I would have loved a story about either of them, instead of the story we got. Seriously, I wanted to know all about Lena from the very first time we met her. And even though we got snippets of her story, kind of the CliffsNotes version, I wanted a book about her.
Kai, her husband – whose name means ‘rejoice’, which I like for the irony, since in this story he’s really a source of pain – didn’t really make enough of an appearance for me to form an opinion of him. Even through Anna’s eyes he was quite nondescript.
The first four parts of the story (taking up about six months) takes place in a small farm in Sweden, kind of sheltered away from the real world. It’s a place Anna needed to gather her bearings, and it’s a place that had a huge impact on the story. After a short interlude in the United States, the sixth part and the small epilogue takes place in Honduras. The entire story, including the epilogue, takes up about 14 months.
It’s unfortunate, because the story itself was interesting! Seeing someone crawl back from the depths of despair, especially in a way that isn’t instantaneous or sudden or saved by romantic love, is a great story. Her background slowly unfolds through flashbacks and memories, but I’m glad they didn’t take up the biggest part of her story. Her journey from where she came to where she’s going, that’s the interesting bit.
My favourite part was the fourth part, at which point we are allowed to know what happened – it got annoying that she kept it hidden away, as if the tragedy she’d survived didn’t scream at you from the very first chapter – and she’s starting to look to the future. I think this was the most healing part; after this, she’s just scrambling to get her old life back, as if she was the only one who had to change and leave something behind.
Wait. It isn’t?
While holding the soil in my hands, I yearned to get closer to it, to let it soak into me. I glanced around and then made my body prostrate in the soil, settling the right side of my face to the earth. I pulled my shirt up and let the coolness touch my belly. It felt like life to me. It was malleable, forming to the contours of my face. There was something comforting about the act. Perhaps because I knew there was life in the soil, that it contained organic properties of living matter, that it was filled with microbes and nutrients that nourished life and growth.
According to the "Book Group Discussion Questions", this is essentially a love story. I guess in a way it is true; through the people around her, Anna has to learn how to love herself again, and how to carve a place into her life for the husband she’s left behind but still loves. But that story got buried deep underneath a layer of ever returning praise of organic farming, and it kept me from connecting to it. It wasn’t, excuse the pun, included organically in the story at all; instead, it felt like organic farming propaganda. It started to really irritate me after a while.
I caught Lena watching [Torbjorn], a smile in her eyes. She was admiring him, loving him.
I gasped and eyes turned to me. I shook my head. The look in her eyes was what got me.
Granted, it wasn’t just the organic farming. I think parts of what kept me at a distance was the way the book is written. It’s all very clinical, very detached. Plus there is a huge emphasis on people’s looks – from Kai telling her that if she had been ugly, he wouldn’t have agreed to help her, to Anna commenting on her mom’s ‘lovely figure’.
And there was an undercurrent of racism that made me very uncomfortable. At one point, she talks with a guy on the phone, and she “imagined he was a big, black man” (…what?), a woman who won’t listen to her must be ignoring her because “she appeared to be very white, very English speaking”, and of course the one absolute villain in the story is “a large man who looked Samoan, with black eyes and a shaved head”. Stereotypes abound all over, such as the Irish guy on the farm who calls her “lass” every other sentence.
Anna got on my nerves so much. She is so incredibly self-centred. I can’t fault her for running away when her life fell apart; that made sense. But even when she was getting better, when she was healing, when she set out to try and get back the life she’d lost, she still only thought of her own pain, her own tragedy. And when she’s looking to others, it’s with so much judgement in her eyes.
I liked a lot of the side characters, though. Lena’s quiet strength and Clara’s youthful resilience really made the first parts of the book for me. I would have loved a story about either of them, instead of the story we got. Seriously, I wanted to know all about Lena from the very first time we met her. And even though we got snippets of her story, kind of the CliffsNotes version, I wanted a book about her.
Kai, her husband – whose name means ‘rejoice’, which I like for the irony, since in this story he’s really a source of pain – didn’t really make enough of an appearance for me to form an opinion of him. Even through Anna’s eyes he was quite nondescript.
The first four parts of the story (taking up about six months) takes place in a small farm in Sweden, kind of sheltered away from the real world. It’s a place Anna needed to gather her bearings, and it’s a place that had a huge impact on the story. After a short interlude in the United States, the sixth part and the small epilogue takes place in Honduras. The entire story, including the epilogue, takes up about 14 months.
Looking forward had become as painful as looking back.
It’s unfortunate, because the story itself was interesting! Seeing someone crawl back from the depths of despair, especially in a way that isn’t instantaneous or sudden or saved by romantic love, is a great story. Her background slowly unfolds through flashbacks and memories, but I’m glad they didn’t take up the biggest part of her story. Her journey from where she came to where she’s going, that’s the interesting bit.
My favourite part was the fourth part, at which point we are allowed to know what happened – it got annoying that she kept it hidden away, as if the tragedy she’d survived didn’t scream at you from the very first chapter – and she’s starting to look to the future. I think this was the most healing part; after this, she’s just scrambling to get her old life back, as if she was the only one who had to change and leave something behind.
June 5, 2017
A rich story of love, tragic loss, and new beginnings
I could not put this one down. The writing was superb. Ms. Schwaiger skillfully relates a mother's pain of loss and weaves it into this tale of love, human imperfection, and forgiveness. I love a book that allows such excellent characterization as this; I don't want to say goodbye to them at the end.
I could not put this one down. The writing was superb. Ms. Schwaiger skillfully relates a mother's pain of loss and weaves it into this tale of love, human imperfection, and forgiveness. I love a book that allows such excellent characterization as this; I don't want to say goodbye to them at the end.
June 7, 2012
4 1/2 STARS! This book spoke to me. It was a little dark but I never lost the sense of Hope waiting just a page away. I absolutely LOVED the way the story was told. It moved so quietly from present to past as the story builds with just the right amount of tension and expectancy. The analogy of loss portrayed through gardening/farming was exquisite. I have experienced great loss in my life but never had to endure the loss of a child and I could physically feel the pain of Schwaiger's characters. It made me ponder too. When someone loses a child it seems as if detailed memories come unbidden through triggers of seemingly small things and yet I can't recall in much detail my own children's toddler years and youth, so is it because they lived, constantly in motion and creating new fresh memories? I'm grateful for the knowledge and testimony that I have about this Life and what happens when we leave to the next one. I don't know how people survive loss, of any kind, without a sure testimony of our Heavenly Father's love and support. This book was one I'll remember for a long time and not because of the darkness but because of the light of hope and forgiveness it portrayed.
May 25, 2012
4 1/2 stars.
Carefully written and thoughtful. A family drama, a love story, and a bit of a travel/food novel about a woman working through the aftereffects of a tragedy.
As a wife and mother myself, I understood and appreciated the main character's feelings and actions. I would not have the courage nor the cowardice to duplicate her actions, but I 'got' her.
I think the author did a wonderful job showing how a person is transformed to less-than-her-whole-self through tragedy.
Perhaps the ending was a little bit of a cop-out, because it seems to be the ending requiring the least effort, but I appreciated the ending nevertheless, mostly because it's the kind of ending I personally always hope for. :)
Carefully written and thoughtful. A family drama, a love story, and a bit of a travel/food novel about a woman working through the aftereffects of a tragedy.
As a wife and mother myself, I understood and appreciated the main character's feelings and actions. I would not have the courage nor the cowardice to duplicate her actions, but I 'got' her.
I think the author did a wonderful job showing how a person is transformed to less-than-her-whole-self through tragedy.
Perhaps the ending was a little bit of a cop-out, because it seems to be the ending requiring the least effort, but I appreciated the ending nevertheless, mostly because it's the kind of ending I personally always hope for. :)
July 13, 2012
Tender and moving, Her Nowhere will have even the hardest of hearts welling up with emotion.
Until the story unfurls in its own time, the reader is unaware of the source of Anna's pain. As her story unfolds, also unfolding are the stories of Lena and Grace, with their own pains and heartaches.
This is a story of how one seemingly simple action can lead to a world of pain and unwanted consequences for oneself and others. It's also a story of letting go, forgiving oneself, and accepting forgiveness. A story of great compassion, friendship, and love. A story of survival and going after what you love.
Though this is not in itself, a story about God, it certainly shows how he can make beauty from ashes. How something lovely can come from our pain.
Until the story unfurls in its own time, the reader is unaware of the source of Anna's pain. As her story unfolds, also unfolding are the stories of Lena and Grace, with their own pains and heartaches.
This is a story of how one seemingly simple action can lead to a world of pain and unwanted consequences for oneself and others. It's also a story of letting go, forgiving oneself, and accepting forgiveness. A story of great compassion, friendship, and love. A story of survival and going after what you love.
Though this is not in itself, a story about God, it certainly shows how he can make beauty from ashes. How something lovely can come from our pain.
May 29, 2012
This book was written by my sweet friend Brigetta. I had no idea she was a novelist. WOW! It is a beautifully written story of a women with unbearable hurt in her life, who came across other women struggling too. It made me want to be more nurturing and to look for others to help. I just loved this book. She was able to capture a mother's burden, a wife's determination and a servant's heart all in one swoop. Great read. Couldn't put it down!
June 4, 2012
Tried this one for free from pixel of ink. Thanks for the info on that Telarry. This is a well written, emotional story. I liked the first half much better than the second. The writing is beautiful, the tragedy is heart-wrenching. But the character development is just so so and the second half seems too quick and doesn't match the pace of the first half. Though it is much better than the other free books I've tried lately.
June 5, 2012
I very rarely give a 5 star review, but I really enjoyed this book. It was very well written and all the characters were perfectly developed and gave me all the closure that I wanted to see for each of them. I was never completely sure how this couples story was going to end, but I loved how it did end. Very well written, "real" story!
June 16, 2012
This is a beautiful and inspiring story. Unusual in its plot and well-researched in its content, it depicts a family torn apart by circumstances and the healing process that brings them together again. I recommend it for anyone who has gone through loss at any time of life as it serves as a clear reminder that where there is life there is hope.
September 20, 2013
I couldn't put this book down because it just kept unfolding bit by bit. When I finally discovered why she was in "her nowhere" I was moved to tears. It is a gut wrenching, page turning, book that ends in a place of redemption and hope. I don't like "cutesy" stories or books full of rainbows and butterflies. This book fits the bill perfectly!
June 5, 2012
I didn't love this book, but I definately liked it. I didn't care for the F bomb's and it felt slow, in some parts. But overall it was touching and most importantly reminded me to hug my children more and give them more quality time and not take our time for granted.
June 25, 2012
Story was slow and boring. Anna was a self-centered shallow woman trying to find her way after some hard times. Wish she'd stayed lost. I enjoyed the descriptions of Sweden and the secondary characters. But overall a trite waste of time.
July 18, 2012
A beautiful novel of loss, healing, and redemption. Anna's story is every parent's nightmare, but Brigetta Schwaiger reminds us that we are all broken souls, whose redemption and healing come in helping others.
Want to read
May 30, 2012I haven't read it yet, but it's on top of my list! I've heard it's FANTASTIC!
June 5, 2012
Let's just say I was going to bed so late because I could not put the book down!
June 11, 2012
Oh my... loved this book!
February 28, 2015
Wonderful
Loved this book. This book should be made into a motion picture. It was truly inspirational and I found myself completely lost in the characters and their travails.
Loved this book. This book should be made into a motion picture. It was truly inspirational and I found myself completely lost in the characters and their travails.
May 15, 2016
Wow what a load of crap, the worse writing and storyline I've read through in a long time omg I will never read this author again. What a waste of money spent on Amazon.
June 23, 2016
Unbelievably good! I loved the characters, unfolding story, and life lessons in this book. I could not put it down and cannot recommend it enough!
September 26, 2012
Sad but interesting, predictable finish.
October 12, 2012
Loved the gracefulness of this book. Such a vivid, simple and cathartic read. I loved it!
January 20, 2015
This was a quick read. Really enjoyed it!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews