Home

by Shana Chartier

Does hope rise in the face of cancer?With her mother's diagnosis, Tara Kingston will soon find out. She returns as the prodigal child to her home state of Colorado, a place she hoped to never see again. With a tattered past and a wounded heart, Tara verbally combats her suburbanite aunts and attempts to reconcile who she was with who she has become. Her mother's condition is dire, but they still have time together, perhaps to heal what was broken so long ago.When family battles become too much, Tara and her mother find a solution by way of a handsome organic farmer, Tom Sanders. Tara agrees to stay and work with him on his farm in Boulder, remaining close to her family but far enough to avoid conflict. Working with the earth and a cast of quirky characters, Tara rediscovers joy in her home state as long summer days pass and her mother's time runs short.As Tara is bombarded by her childhood memories and at war with herself after repressing years of pent-up anger, she must learn to release her ties to her sordid past in order to forgive and move on. Tara, on some level or another, is all of us, just trying to find her way on the difficult road that is life.

182 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 4, 2019

About the author

Shana Chartier was born in Littleton, Colorado, and lived there for sixteen years before moving to Amherst, New Hampshire. Enthralled by New England's lush beauty, she has made her home in a little town called Merrimack. Shana currently lives with her husband Shane, daughters Evelyn and Amelia, and their two crazy cats, Kylo and Leia.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Home is about a young woman who fled her family many years ago to start a new life on the East Coast. When she gets the bad news that her mother is dying, she has to return to Colorado to deal with what she left behind.

Unlike a lot of books, the bad guys in this book are not cartoon-like villains; they are real people who are, quite frankly, just terrible. The book shows the often unspoken-about emotional abuse family can impart on each other, and the damages it causes. Tara, the main character, can not solve her families problems, but she can learn to fight back. At the heart of the book are two love stories; one between a man and a woman, and one between mother and daughter.

The book can be uncomfortable to read if your family was less than perfect, and can bring up less than ideal memories. However it's a wonderful story with a gorgeous setting, and plenty of wonderful characters to balance out the downright horrible ones. I particularly enjoyed the cast of characters at the farm, and would love to read more about the lively bunch. I would definitely recommend.