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The Meeting of Air and Water
The setting is Cocodrie, a small town on the disappearing Louisiana coastline in 1923, where a sensitive young girl receives the gift of a camera that offers her a window into an otherwise frightening world. The haunting, mythical culture of the Acadians feeds her imagination until her move to the volatile city of New Orleans where societal expectations and religious conventions inhibit her artistic yearnings. Motherhood and her misunderstood mental challenges lead to tragic circumstances.
Sixty years later, her granddaughter Elaine, reeling from a divorce, returns to New Orleans to care for Dolores’s feisty husband, Earl, in a wheelchair, who lives in a fishing camp on Lake Pontchartrain. Earl is dismayed by the similarities between Elaine and his deceased wife, Dolores, as is Elaine’s mother, Charlotte, who fears for her daughter’s mental health and well-being. Elaine starts out on a path of self-destruction with an abusive city prosecutor while a former lover pursues her. Meanwhile her restless grandfather decides to pursue a love life of his own. When Elaine discovers that her grandmother’s gifts and tragic life have been kept secret, she goes on a mission to learn all she can about Dolores and her mysterious photographs. Family wounds that have been deepening for decades come to the surface and must be confronted in light of Elaine’s discoveries.
Steeped in the exotic atmosphere of southern Louisiana, The Meeting of Air and Water explores the nature and fragility of the human need to create, as well as the complications and struggles that arrive when this need is denied. With insight and humor the novel reveals the dangers of kept family secrets and the healing that can occur when truth comes to light.
Sixty years later, her granddaughter Elaine, reeling from a divorce, returns to New Orleans to care for Dolores’s feisty husband, Earl, in a wheelchair, who lives in a fishing camp on Lake Pontchartrain. Earl is dismayed by the similarities between Elaine and his deceased wife, Dolores, as is Elaine’s mother, Charlotte, who fears for her daughter’s mental health and well-being. Elaine starts out on a path of self-destruction with an abusive city prosecutor while a former lover pursues her. Meanwhile her restless grandfather decides to pursue a love life of his own. When Elaine discovers that her grandmother’s gifts and tragic life have been kept secret, she goes on a mission to learn all she can about Dolores and her mysterious photographs. Family wounds that have been deepening for decades come to the surface and must be confronted in light of Elaine’s discoveries.
Steeped in the exotic atmosphere of southern Louisiana, The Meeting of Air and Water explores the nature and fragility of the human need to create, as well as the complications and struggles that arrive when this need is denied. With insight and humor the novel reveals the dangers of kept family secrets and the healing that can occur when truth comes to light.
265 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 29, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 7 reviews
December 22, 2024
The Meeting of Air and Water has an amazing sense of texture and place, and is a great story. It spans several generations and locations throughout Louisiana, from the bayous to the French Quarter. I loved how the characters talked, and what they ate, and I could feel the moisture in the air, and could relate to their predicaments in life. Now I must admit these details resonated with me because I grew up in Louisiana and it was all so familiar. However I think any reader would find this very engaging story enjoyable. I especially appreciated the notes at the end where the author explains how she was inspired to write the book and some of her information sources about this fascinating corner of Louisiana.
August 16, 2025
A deeply moving piece of literary fiction that addresses the nuances of mental illness in a generational and respectful way. And the description of Louisiana dropped me right in to the culture and the beauty of a place I have yet to visit. Highly recommend.
September 25, 2024
Deeply Engaging Story of Life in the deep South
The characters and the settings are described in such vivid detail that you feel yourself drawn into the story itself. The weaving of everyday life in the deep south with the struggles the family faced with mental illness is not only telling of the time but pertinent today as well. I couldn't put it down!
The characters and the settings are described in such vivid detail that you feel yourself drawn into the story itself. The weaving of everyday life in the deep south with the struggles the family faced with mental illness is not only telling of the time but pertinent today as well. I couldn't put it down!
October 29, 2025
I enjoyed this book very, very much! Towards the end of the book I could not put it down. I found myself reading every free second. The characters were so well developed. All that research about cameras and photography provided details that made the story so vibrant. This is a debut novel. I hope it won't be her last because she has talent that needs to be shared.
May 11, 2025
Review to follow after submission to Windy City Reviews.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 7 reviews