One quiet spring day, Gracie Hollaman hears voices in her head that tell her to get in her car and leave her entire life behind — her home, her husband, her daughter, her very identity. Gracie's subsequent journey releases her genius for painting and effects profound changes in the lives of everyone around her. Ultimately, her quest leads her into the home of Mama Toot and Mattie, two strong, accomplished women going through life changes of their own. As the bonds between these women grow stronger, and the family Gracie left behind come to terms with their own loss, both worlds slowly and inevitably collide, revealing a long-buried secret that they share.

A spellbinding debut novel, Sufficient Grace explores the power of personal transformation and redemption, and the many ordinary and extraordinary ways they come to pass through faith, love, motherhood, art, even food. Even though we sometimes have to leave behind an old identity in order to discover our soul, this poignant, poetic study of the human condition affirms the enduring importance of relationships and the strength we derive from them.

"In her moving debut novel, Arnoult chronicles a Southern middle-aged wife and mother's descent into schizophrenia and the two families — one white, one black — transformed by her. When Gracie Hollaman goes missing, her husband, Ed, is convinced she's left him — but in fact, Gracie has left herself, at the behest of disembodied voices, for a hallucinatory world '[i]n the narrow space between what is real and what is not.' Gracie wanders into the small African-American town of Rockrun and is taken into the bustling household of Mama Toot and Mattie, a mother and her widowed daughter-in-law beset by grief. Compulsive and adamant, Gracie clings to painting rituals and the voices in her head, defying her family's attempts to reclaim her after Toot tracks them down: ' 'My circle's closing. I need to be the ex-wife.' ' The circle Gracie refers to finds expression throughout the book — one circle must be closed before another can begin — as each character learns how to say good-bye to her old life and begin anew. In brisk scenes, Arnoult's rhythmic prose beautifully reveals the human potential for unconditional love and faith, and wholly convinces us — despite the heartache her mental illness causes — of Gracie's essential wisdom and worthiness. (June)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Darnell Arnoult writes about a people and a place from deep in her heart. She breathes life into her material, drawing us into her world, a world we do not want to leave at book's end. Sufficient Grace is Flannery O'Connor possessed by Emeril, laced with canny observations about the sweetness and alienation that is family. If I were to tell you everything that's humane, witty, smart, touching, captivating in this book, I would be hoarse."-- Judy Goldman, author of Early Leaving

"Sufficient Grace examines both the nature of love and kinds of nurture we all hunger for. Arnoult invites us to a feast of love, a kind of communion. Each swift and telling scene is like a brushstroke in an impressionistic painting which shimmers with the light of revelation."

-- Lee Smith, author of The Last Girls

"Sufficient Grace is both a blessing and a relief. It's a relief to read a novel about the deepest truths women share, which has everything to do with courage and dignity. It is also a blessing to be shown the inner core of our hearts by someone who knows us so well."

-- Kaye Gibbons, author of Ellen Foster

"Sufficient Grace is the loving portrait of two families, one black and one white, their paths entwined by a woman who has lost her way in the world. In an unforgettable debut, Darnell Arnoult writes with a luminous energy that shines light in the intricacies of madness and of compassion. It is easy and satisfying to sink into the folds of this story told with humor, wisdom, and wonderful food."

-- Lynn York, author of The Piano Teacher

"Sufficient Grace is a showcase of memorable characters and Southern storytelling at its finest. It also speaks to the theme of art and how it comes to life through the generations that feed into the life and history of the artist. An accomplished, moving novel, it marks the beginning of what I hope will be a long and productive career."-- Jill McCorkle, author of Crash Diet

"Sufficient Grace is a winner — a bountiful, blessed tale, alive with insight, warmth, and humor. As many in the large cast of racially and age diverse characters in this satisfying, well-plotted story are brought from disappointment, madness, loss, and sometimes despair into connection, love, and art, the reader will want to cheer them and the author. Arnoult proves with this debut novel that she is an amazing storyteller who is going places."

-- Isabel Zuber, author of Salt

"Darnell Arnoult gently slips her characters under the microscope, pulls out the hidden, examines the known and unknown, and allows the reader to connect to the love, loss, sadness, and comedic aspects that are within us all."-- Grace F. Edwards, author of the Mali Anderson series

"Darnell Arnoult's Sufficient Grace reminds me of Harriett Arnow's The Dollmaker and Lee Smith's Fair and Tender Ladies. It's a big story full of just about everything: good food, history, religion, medicine, family, and fun. It's too good to have come from a new kid on the block, but it has and it will be read and loved by many, many readers."-- Clyde Edgerton, author of In Memory of Junior

"Darnell Arnoult gently slips her characters under the microscope, pulls out the hidden, examines the known and unknown, and allows the reader to connect to the love, loss, sadness, and comedic aspects that are within us all."

-- Grace F. Edwards, author of the Mali Anderson series

This spellbinding debut novel explores the power of personal transformation and redemption, and the many extraordinary ways they come to pass.

Gracie Hollaman hears voices in her head that tell her to get in a car and leave her entire life behind. On her journey, she meets Mama Toot and Mattie, while at home her husband Ed struggles to begin a new life for himself. Arnoult's debut novel explores the power of personal transformation and redemption--and the many extraordinary ways they come to pass.

Contents

Invitation

Offertory

Passion

Commitment

Sufficient Grace

Second Offering

Benediction

Acknowledgments