Synopses & Reviews
In a stirring debut novel, the discovery of a husband's troubling secrets after his death shakes his wife's faith in their marriage and herself. Macy Allen, an accomplished equestrienne, has relied on her horses and her husband, Nash, to pull her through. But after Nash dies in a tragic accident, Macy learns devastating secrets about his life that rock her belief in their marriage and herself. Nash's mother, Magda, blames Macy for her only son's death. When her husband, Jack, moves to Vancouver Island in a desperate attempt to feel closer to the son he's lost and never really knew, Magda's bitterness threatens to alienate the people she needs most. As this unlikely family questions how well they knew Nash and what love really means, still another surprise awaits them-an irrepressible child who will overturn all their expectations...
Review
Praise for
Learning to Stay "[A] gem of a novel...For anyone who has wondered what happens behind closed doors when a loved one comes home from war..."--Lee Woodruff, co-author of New York Times bestselling In an Instant
"A timely novel, but also a novel that speaks to the tides of any marriage, in peacetime or at war."--Joseph Monninger, author of Margaret from Maine
"Riveting and tender...the emotional battle a wife must wage to bring her husband back to her."--Erika Marks, author of The Mermaid Collector
"Inspiring..."--John Shors, author of Temple of a Thousand Faces
Synopsis
Elise Sabato is proud of her husband, Brad, for serving his country...and grateful when he returns home to her. But the traumatic brain injury he suffered in Iraq has turned him from a thoughtful, brilliant, and patient man into someone quite different....someone who requires more care and attention than Elise can give while working in a demanding law firm. And when Brad ends up on his family’s farm, hundreds of miles away, she wonders where their marriage is headed.
Elise must decide between the life she always wanted and the life she seems to be living…until she finds inspiration in the most unlikely of places: a lovable dog named Jones who teaches her that when the best-laid plans take unexpected turns, sometimes you end up right where you were meant to be.
About the Author
Erin Celello was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where she also earned an MFA in fiction from Northern Michigan University. She now lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband, son, and two unruly Vizslas. She teaches writing at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Please visit her at erincelello.com and at facebook.com/ecelello.