by Lisa Tucker
She called him the blob, because she was so sure he was retarded. He couldn’t walk or crawl; he didn’t talk or coo or even cry much. Nobody wanted that baby: not Linda, not her parents, and not any of the families on Missouri’s waiting list for perfect, white infants. Mary Beth took this as another sign that she was supposed to have him. She didn’t care if his daddy was black or brown or from Mars, because the first time she picked him up, he held on to her hair with his fist like he was afraid she’d disappear. When she curled up next to him at night, he breathed a fluttering little sigh of what she swore was pure happiness.
Linda was back in Los Angeles and the adoption was already final when the doctor confirmed what Mary Beth had been saying all along: the only thing wrong with Tommy was the way Linda had been treating him. He turned into a chubby-legged toddler who giggled as he followed us all over the apartment. He called me “E-ann” in the sweetest little voice. He called Mary Beth, Mama.
Sometimes I thought Mary Beth’s gift would bring us everything.
My sister Mary Beth was a song reader. Nobody else in the whole world can say that, as far as I know. And even after everything that happened, I still find myself wishing I could go back to when the music was like a spirit moving through our town, giving words to what we felt, connecting us all.
Reviews
Advance Praise for The Winters in Bloom
“Few contemporary novelists come close to understanding families in trouble with the insight and compassion of Lisa Tucker. The Winters in Bloom is one page-turner you will not want to miss.”
—Pat Conroy, New York Times bestselling author of South of Broad and Beach Music
“In The Winters in Bloom, the ties that bind are expertly knotted. With many twists, secrets, and unexpected turns, Lisa Tucker proves that sometimes these ties are wholly unbreakable. They can survive time, loss, longing—even our greatest fears—and they endure because love endures.”
—Julianna Baggott, author of Girl Talk
“Lisa Tucker weaves together multiple perspectives to give us a novel rife with human entanglements of every variety, all sensitively, insightfully rendered. Most moving is the story of Kyra and David as they face the struggles every parent will recognize: how to take care of someone in a world as dangerous as it is beautiful; how to choose—daily, deliberately—joy over fear.”
—Marisa de los Santos, New York Times bestselling author of Love Walked In
Praise for The Promised World
“One of the standout novels of the year … will appeal both to readers of literary fiction and those who enjoy psychological suspense.”
—Chicago Sun-Times
“Tucker excels at telling unexpected stories.”
—Denver Post
Praise for The Cure for Modern Life
“A smart page-turner.”
—People
“Solidifies Tucker’s position as a gifted writer with a wide range and a profound sense of compassion for the mysteries of the human heart.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Praise for Once Upon a Day
“A lyrically poignant reminder of the necessity of hope.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Tucker is a graceful writer, with an ability to create characters whose flaws help make them sympathetic and believably human.”
—The Boston Globe
Praise for Shout Down the Moon
“Tucker’s straight from the heart narration is instantly gripping.”
—Booklist
“Tucker’s portrayal is refreshingly real.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer
Praise for The Song Reader
“An engagingly intricate debut … the characters become as real to the reader as they are to [the narrator].”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer (Editor’s Choice)
“An achingly tender narrative about grief, love, madness, and crippling family secrets.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
About the Author
Atria Books/Simon & Schuster Author Page
authors.simonandschuster.com/LisaTucker/19038353
Author Website
www.lisatucker.com
Facebook
www.facebook.com/AuthorLisaTucker
Twitter
twitter.com/#!/LTuckerWriter
