My friend Kristina has written a book! (You may recall that I’ve mentioned it in the past, before she found a publisher; but now she HAS found a publisher, Sands Press, and her book comes out March 30!) I am telling you about it not only because am I delighted for and proud of Kristina for bringing a book into the world, but also because it is an excellent, heart-pounding, heart-wrenching thrill of a book.
The book is called Weight of Memory and it is like nothing I have ever read before.
Mini Plot Summary: The main character, Lara, has lost her brother and she is really struggling. Her grief is crushing everything in its path and threatening to ruin her marriage and her mental health. One of the only things that helps is an old book Lara finds tucked away in an antique shop. She finds early comfort in its pages. But as she starts down the long, difficult path of the healing process, she suffers a new devastating loss: her memories of her brother are starting to disappear. She seeks solace in the book again, but this time, the story has changed… and the terrible things that occur in the book begin to happen to Lara, putting her marriage, her young daughter, and her life in harm’s way. She must try to understand the dark power she has unleashed and figure out how to repair the breach between this world and the next… without losing the only thing she has left of her brother.
Mini Review: I don’t normally gravitate toward books about the supernatural, so I was surprised by how vivid and compelling that aspect of the plot was. But I wasn’t surprised by the quality of the writing, by the skill with which Kristina developed her characters, or by how invested I became in Lara’s struggle. This is a horror story at its best – and Kristina masterfully develops the tension in a way that made me jumpy and anxious in all the best ways. But what I love most about Weight of Memory is that it’s also a heart-rending excavation of loss and how we must make a place for grief in our lives. Kristina lost her own brother in a sudden, tragic accident and every word of Lara’s struggle carries the power and truth of that lived experience. I found the book simultaneously spine-tingling and deeply moving.
Giveaway Details: Today, I am giving away a copy of Weight of Memory. If it sounds like you or someone you know would enjoy the book, leave a comment on this post. It can be about absolutely anything. Or you can tell me the last book you read, if you like to have a prompt. I will choose a winner by midnight Wednesday.
And of course, if you prefer, you can always pre-order Weight of Memory on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, or wherever you buy books.
UPDATE: This giveaway is closed. Ernie, commenter number 3, is the winner! Ernie, I have emailed you to request your address and will pre-order a copy of the book for you. Hopefully it will arrive the day it comes out so you can be one of the first people to read it! Thank you everyone for participating!
