Finding the Grain
$10.00 – $20.00
“Denial is a powerful thing…”
Izzy Stark, returning home from her service in Afghanistan, faces a heart-wrenching tragedy when her husband Dave is killed by an IED just weeks before his discharge. The shattered dreams they once shared now burden Izzy alone as she navigates her civilian life in Whistle Canyon, Colorado, where Dave had inherited a home. While Dave’s memory haunts her, new friends like Ben McCully rally to help mend her neglected home.
Fellow soldier and friend, Tom Biddoe, reconnects with Izzy to work on a project. He feels compelled to share long-held secrets about Dave’s death. However, an enigmatic mystery box arriving in the mail forces Izzy to ask more questions, leading her to uncover a truth Dave never wanted her to know.
As Izzy wrestles with Dave’s lingering influence in her life, she learns that, like the growth rings of a tree, she can heal by Finding the Grain.
Lydia –
Welcome home, Izzy!
This heartbreaking tale of redemption follows Izzy Stark after her discharge from the Afghan war. Returning home to prepare for her husband’s discharge, she focuses on paring down their items for a move to his inherited home in Colorado. But her life’s dreams are shattered when she learns he was killed in an IED blast just weeks before his return. Now she is wearing both of their dreams and struggles between the reality of a worn-down home and being true to her husband. Izzy’s friendship with town members Earl who owns the hardware store and Ben, a shop teacher who helps with odd jobs keeps her focused on the day-to-day improvements on the home. Still she questions how authentic she can make the home so it is true to her husband Dave’s ideal. Finding greater conflict between the two, she feels a greater betrayal to Dave and feels him slipping away. As others rally to her assistance, including former Army friend Tom with his Boots and Hammers nonprofit, she discovers that the newness of the home and the improvements are healing more than betrayal.
Fifer’s setting at Breezy Point transports you to that very acreage. You can see Snap Creek, feel the shadows of the hawks as they fly over, hear her retired IED dog Bix bark as he plays in the grass. You also feel her heartbreak when she celebrates her husband, or when she has a flashback so strong, she nearly kills one of the characters. The metaphor of wood telling stories blends into Ben’s creativity as he is making a table, but also into Izzy’s life as she heals. When a mysterious box arrives at her home, she gradually discovers secrets about Dave’s last few months that he never wanted her to know.
Izzy wanders through her grief at various stages until that mystery is solved and she can finally gain perspective regarding Dave’s death and her own survival and change.
Finding the Grain is something we all should do when we accept life’s changes and challenges. Watching Izzy do so allows us into her world and helps us heal as well.
Highly recommended! A Literary Titan Gold award winner, too!
Lydia –
Welcome home, Izzy!
This heartbreaking tale of redemption follows Izzy Stark after her discharge from the Afghan war. Returning home to prepare for her husband’s discharge, she focuses on paring down their items for a move to his inherited home in Colorado. But her life’s dreams are shattered when she learns he was killed in an IED blast just weeks before his return. Now she is wearing both of their dreams and struggles between the reality of a worn-down home and being true to her husband. Izzy’s friendship with town members Earl who owns the hardware store and Ben, a shop teacher who helps with odd jobs keeps her focused on the day-to-day improvements on the home. Still she questions how authentic she can make the home so it is true to her husband Dave’s ideal. Finding greater conflict between the two, she feels a greater betrayal to Dave and feels him slipping away. As others rally to her assistance, including former Army friend Tom with his Boots and Hammers nonprofit, she discovers that the newness of the home and the improvements are healing more than betrayal.
Fifer’s setting at Breezy Point transports you to that very acreage. You can see Snap Creek, feel the shadows of the hawks as they fly over, hear her retired IED dog Bix bark as he plays in the grass. You also feel her heartbreak when she celebrates her husband, or when she has a flashback so strong, she nearly kills one of the characters. The metaphor of wood telling stories blends into Ben’s creativity as he is making a table, but also into Izzy’s life as she heals. When a mysterious box arrives at her home, she gradually discovers secrets about Dave’s last few months that he never wanted her to know.
Izzy wanders through her grief at various stages until that mystery is solved and she can finally gain perspective regarding Dave’s death and her own survival and change.
Finding the Grain is something we all should do when we accept life’s changes and challenges. Watching Izzy do so allows us into her world and helps us heal as well.
Highly recommended! A Literary Titan Gold award winner, too!