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Between Sea and Sky
Not yet published
Expected 24 Feb 26“Warm and rich, full of emotion and human experience... gifts for the soul.” Maureen Nery, author of Saving Grace
A young woman crosses continents in a desperate bid to rescue a childhood friend from the confines of an abuse-induced agoraphobia. Under cover of night, an octogenarian sneaks out of her home and goes on the run in a last-ditch attempt to escape those who would make her age a cage. A grandmother seeks connection with a grandchild taken before she was ever known. Women find their strength amid the loss of children, grandchildren, of their own agency and sense of self. With the lyrical language and keen sense of place that readers of Marshall's novels have come to know, these stories transport the reader from the wilds of remote Scottish islands to the swamps of South Carolina.
These are tales of outsiders, of survivors connecting deeply with the natural world—with seas and skies and what lies between. As they battle fear, abuse, mental illness and oppressive societal norms, each of their tales offers us hope and a guide to ways of claiming our fullness even in the most challenging circumstances.
A young woman crosses continents in a desperate bid to rescue a childhood friend from the confines of an abuse-induced agoraphobia. Under cover of night, an octogenarian sneaks out of her home and goes on the run in a last-ditch attempt to escape those who would make her age a cage. A grandmother seeks connection with a grandchild taken before she was ever known. Women find their strength amid the loss of children, grandchildren, of their own agency and sense of self. With the lyrical language and keen sense of place that readers of Marshall's novels have come to know, these stories transport the reader from the wilds of remote Scottish islands to the swamps of South Carolina.
These are tales of outsiders, of survivors connecting deeply with the natural world—with seas and skies and what lies between. As they battle fear, abuse, mental illness and oppressive societal norms, each of their tales offers us hope and a guide to ways of claiming our fullness even in the most challenging circumstances.
164 pages, Paperback
Expected publication February 24, 2026
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About the author
Heather G. Marshall
3 books48 followersHeather G. Marshall is an adoptee, author, speaker, teacher and guide. Her work reveals a deep reverence for the natural world and for the power and wisdom of older women as she weaves personal narrative with universal truth, guiding readers to question old beliefs, reclaim their voices, and step into stories of belonging and agency. Heather's writing has been published in a variety of journals, including Black Middens: New Writing Scotland, and Quarried, an anthology of the best of three decades of Pine Mountain Sand and Gravel; she has published two novels--The Thorn Tree (MP Publishing, 2014) and When the Ocean Flies (Vine Leaves Press 2024)--and a collection of short stories--Between Sea and Sky (Vine Leaves Press 2026). Her TED talk, “Letting Go of Expectations,” centers around her adoption and reunion. Originally from Scotland, Heather is currently based in the US. You can find out more about her at https://heathergmarshall.com/
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Review of advance copy
An intimate short story collection about what we inherit from parents, what they try (and perhaps fail) to protect us from, and what we carry away from childhood.
Across lives shaped by water, land, and distance, these stories trace how love both shelters and limits. Many stories center on moments of threshold, especially around parenthood, loss, and return.
The stories center on the interior experience of characters whose identities are formed through inheritance and fracture. The physical world (sea, mountains, weather, wood, etc.) are forces pulling people outward and calling them home again. Many of the stories unfold at moments of threshold: pregnancy, separation, aging, grief, and return. and several leave space for ambiguity without feeling unfinished.
A few pieces particularly stand out to me. In “Within,” a young woman gives up her baby after a love story is abruptly severed, an act meant as protection that becomes its own enduring trauma. In “Celestial Navigation,” a middle-aged woman returns to the islands of her childhood to reclaim what her father never taught her. “Annalynn Seeks the Sky” offers a portrait of an elderly woman claiming her freedom. And in “Where the Crust Breaks,” a daughter reckons with the loss of her flawed father and discovers a core component of her identity.
Taken together, the collection gains power through accumulation. These stories understand that love and damage often arrive together, and that what we inherit is rarely simple. It reminded me that identity is formed by what we are given and what we learn to carry.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Across lives shaped by water, land, and distance, these stories trace how love both shelters and limits. Many stories center on moments of threshold, especially around parenthood, loss, and return.
The stories center on the interior experience of characters whose identities are formed through inheritance and fracture. The physical world (sea, mountains, weather, wood, etc.) are forces pulling people outward and calling them home again. Many of the stories unfold at moments of threshold: pregnancy, separation, aging, grief, and return. and several leave space for ambiguity without feeling unfinished.
A few pieces particularly stand out to me. In “Within,” a young woman gives up her baby after a love story is abruptly severed, an act meant as protection that becomes its own enduring trauma. In “Celestial Navigation,” a middle-aged woman returns to the islands of her childhood to reclaim what her father never taught her. “Annalynn Seeks the Sky” offers a portrait of an elderly woman claiming her freedom. And in “Where the Crust Breaks,” a daughter reckons with the loss of her flawed father and discovers a core component of her identity.
Taken together, the collection gains power through accumulation. These stories understand that love and damage often arrive together, and that what we inherit is rarely simple. It reminded me that identity is formed by what we are given and what we learn to carry.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy
I obtained an Advance Copy of this book for review. Between Sea and Sky lives up to its enticing cover—you see it and you want to swirl in between the colors of the font, water, and sea life—swim into something profound. At least I did upon first gaze!
It’s a battle between nostalgia, trauma, childhood delight, and pain. The collection cracks open an artery for the reader, sort of stuck between pleasure and grim—the characters so vulnerable, often young and totally aware. It’s a textured set of stories at a quick cadence without feeling rushed.
I enjoyed the third person Pov in As Good as a Feast—the tales of war, poverty, motherhood, survival. One of my favorites being, Nesting Doll for its take on sisterhood, innocence, and family dynamic.
I’d recommend this book to those who love a textured collection that exposes the humility of ourselves as people, but also the undying hope that we cannot help but have as children.
It’s a battle between nostalgia, trauma, childhood delight, and pain. The collection cracks open an artery for the reader, sort of stuck between pleasure and grim—the characters so vulnerable, often young and totally aware. It’s a textured set of stories at a quick cadence without feeling rushed.
I enjoyed the third person Pov in As Good as a Feast—the tales of war, poverty, motherhood, survival. One of my favorites being, Nesting Doll for its take on sisterhood, innocence, and family dynamic.
I’d recommend this book to those who love a textured collection that exposes the humility of ourselves as people, but also the undying hope that we cannot help but have as children.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews