This month, we’re highlighting stories of resilience and strength. From historical fiction to modern thrillers, the women in these stories reveal their true courage and tenacity when deeply personal crises transform their lives and redefine their sense of self.
Unspoken: A Dust Novel by Jann Alexander
A farm devastated. A dream destroyed. A family scattered. And one Texas girl determined to salvage the wreckage.
Ruby Lee Becker can’t breathe. It’s 1935 in the heart of the Dust Bowl, and the Becker family has clung to its Texas Panhandle farm through 6 years of drought, dying crops and dust storms. On Black Sunday, the biggest, blackest storm of them all threatens young Ruby with deadly dust pneumonia and requires a drastic choice — one her mother, Willa Mae, will forever regret.
To survive, Ruby’s forced to leave the only place she’s ever known. Far from home, wondering why she’s been abandoned, she’s determined to get back. Through rollicking adventures and harrowing setbacks, the tenacious Ruby Lee embarks on her perilous quest for home — and faces her one unspoken fear.
Even after 12 years, Willa Mae still clings to memories of her daughter. Unable to reunite with Ruby, she’s broken by their separation. Unspoken shines a light on women driven apart by disaster who bravely lean on one another, find comfort in remade families, and redefine what home means.
Out of the Crash by Susan Poole
After a fatal hit-and-run devastates their close-knit community, author Caroline Beasley and high school senior Ethan Shawver find themselves at a crossroads as their lives intertwine in unexpected ways. Both are left reeling as they try to make sense of the tragedy that has irrevocably changed their families forever.
Caroline struggles with the dark implications of her son’s role in the crash, feeling the weight of guilt and despair. Meanwhile, Ethan grapples with the sudden loss of his mother and stumbles upon a disturbing secret that threatens to upend everything he believes. As they each search for truth and healing, they must confront their deepest fears and regrets to find a way forward.
From This Day Forward by Wendy Haller
Newlyweds Jay and Emmaline Ellis are the picture-perfect couple, excitedly charting the course of their lives together. Their dreams are big, their plans carefully crafted and their love unwavering — until a devastating accident turns their world upside down.
When Jay sustains a traumatic brain injury, the couple is thrust into an emotional and physical battle they never anticipated. As their future takes a drastically different shape, they must confront questions they never thought they’d face: Is love enough when the life you planned doesn’t seem possible? Can hope mend what feels broken?
From this day forward, they’ll have to decide whether to hold on to the promises they made or let tragedy break the future they once planned together. A story of heartbreak, resilience and the transformative power of love, this story asks: From this day forward, for better or worse, can you hold onto love when everything else feels lost?
Fine, But Not Finished by Rachel Del Grosso
Hazel Greenwood’s life is fine — except for her crumbling marriage, her grief over her mother’s death, and the looming milestone of turning 40. When she and her husband agree to a year-long separation, Hazel figures she’ll just coast through and figure things out later. That is, until a birthday wish goes horribly wrong: Hazel can no longer tell a single lie.
Suddenly, her carefully constructed world of avoidance shatters, forcing her to face the truth about her marriage, her past and herself. As she starts to rewrite her story, old characters — both loved and loathed — pop up, forcing Hazel to choose: stay with the “fine” version of herself or embrace the messy, beautiful reality of her own happy ending.
Fine, But Not Finished is a poignant and empowering tale about embracing life’s messiness, finding strength in vulnerability, and figuring out how to turn life’s plot twists into something other than a complete disaster.
Somewhere Past the End by Alexandria Faulkenbury
Alice Greene knows it’s a hoax when the leader of the cult she’s been raised in announces the end of the world. She also knows it’s the perfect chance to escape before he finds out she’s pregnant with the baby she’s not supposed to have. But as she watches his prophecy come true and over 100 members of the group disappear into smoke and light, all her plans crumble.
Still reeling from the disappearance, Alice reconnects with her childhood best friend, Edwin. He’s got a message from their vanished leader: He and Alice will shepherd the remaining members of the Collective. Certain she’s the wrong person for the job, but terrified she’ll lose the only family she has left, Alice struggles to find a way forward until she discovers the secrets and lies that built their community, including one that will change her friendship with Edwin forever.
Told in dual timelines, Somewhere Past the End offers a panoramic view of one family and how the repercussions of their choices muddy the lines between truth, belief and delusion.
The Measure of Enough by Deonna Kay
Thirty-four-year-old social worker Kacee Robinson runs a non-profit agency helping women and children move away from bad situations. Kacee moved from her own troubles years ago and pledged never to return to her hometown of Glendale, Texas, or to the mother who abandoned her.
Now it is Kacee’s mother who needs something. With the entire town rallying behind the cry, Kacee has a decision to make. She can put aside everything she thought she knew about this woman, return to the town and conduct business. Or she can stand her ground, continuing to struggle with nagging questions and residual scars of her childhood.
Before she can decide, Kacee fears her life may be in danger, and a turn of events prompts resolutions that cannot be undone, setting into motion a slide of events as slick as the oil-engendered family from which Kacee was born. The echoes of the past reach out to her while in Glendale, grabbing on and not letting go as they wind her through pages of her mother’s journals and twist her into an unexpected fate.
The First Love Myth by Casey Dembowski
Liz Madden has a storybook romance — high school sweethearts, second chances and a happily-ever-after. But when she finds out that her husband cheated on her, she is forced to make the hard decision and walk away. Unable to reveal the betrayal to those closest to her, Liz instead takes refuge with her father and half-sister, Zoey.
Zoey is nursing her own broken heart after a devastating end to her first love. But true to Reid-sister heritage, she’s courting disaster with a no-strings-attached affair with her ex. Liz’s marital discord also brings their older sister, Cecilia, back to town. But Cecilia has complicated relationship issues of her own. She’s never forgiven their father for the affair he had 17 years ago, and she’s also never accepted Zoey as part of the family.
As their respective heartbreaks draw Liz and Zoey closer together, Liz finds she is getting tired of walking the line between her two sisters. To make it through the summer, the sisters will have to heal the fractures between them. Sometimes, forgiveness isn’t always a straight line, and letting go is the only way forward.
Stay, Girl by Angelica R. Jackson
Bet Carter’s stepfather is a conman with a history of violence, and he’s trying to force 13-year-old Bet into that life, too. His controlling ways make Bet’s world smaller every day, until the death of her ailing mother gives the girl an opportunity to flee to her Uncle Earl’s.
Bet only planned a quick stopover in Amberfields, but after her uncle welcomes her into his home, she keeps finding excuses to stay. Bet wants to help Uncle Earl’s foster dog, Penny, learn to trust again — but how can the girl mend Penny’s spirit when her own is so broken?
Joining a hilarious prank war with her new friend Georgie goes a long way to making Bet feel at home in Amberfields. As Bet’s emotional armor softens, along with her reasons to leave, she finally allows herself to dream bigger. This heartfelt coming-of-age story will have you cheering for a girl whose determination and optimism help her rediscover the healing power of love.
Inside Outside by Faye Arcand
Leslie’s good at keeping secrets — she’s been doing it her entire life. On the surface, she had it all. Successful career, stunning home, and a marriage others envied, but her husband’s betrayal shatters the fantasy and sends her spiraling into self-destructive behaviors that leave her feeling empty and alone.
As she retreats from life, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to a high school student she spots from across the street. The girl, Selena, reminds her so much of her younger self — on the fringes and isolated. Convinced the girl needs protecting, Leslie casually inserts herself into Selena’s life.
Selena’s world is far from perfect — a new school in senior year, a dilapidated house filled with secrets, and two younger sisters to shield from her mother’s sleazy boyfriend. She’s trapped by circumstance and necessity.
Leslie and Selena come together as secrets unravel. Boundaries blur as the outside world creeps through the cracks to alter the inside. A gripping domestic thriller where two lives on the edge of desperation are entwined in such a way that neither will ever be the same.
The Gift by C. D'Angelo
Toni is having a midlife crisis at age 35. Unsurprising, since she hasn’t achieved her dream job of becoming a cellist in the LA Philharmonic and, instead, is trapped teaching music all day. She’s also barely surviving in her shaky marriage to former soulmate and new Mr. Condescending, uh … Christian.
When she learns about her ancestor leaving Italy to reestablish his winery in early 1900s LA, she longs to awaken the freedom-filled family legacy and escape her rut. There’s just the tiny problem of no experience, no startup money, and convincing Christian there’s more to life than one rigid plan.
With an already divided heart, an LA Phil audition surfaces at the worst time. Toni is lost and tired of restrictions, including hiding time spent with her closest friend, David. Christian must be wrong about David wanting more than friendship … right?
If Toni revives vineyard history instead of continuing as a cellist, she risks losing her marriage and all she’s ever known. She must not only choose between careers but discover herself — including true passion and love — if she wants to survive.
Letters for Lucien by Suzy England
The elite of the Houston society scene are shocked when confirmed bachelor, the handsome and charismatic Mathew Ellis, tumbles into marriage with NASA atmospheric researcher, Sunny Porter, after a whirlwind courtship. The gossip mill continues to churn when Sunny, a woman pushing 40, becomes pregnant just as they begin the journey of their married lives.
Deliriously happy, Mathew and Sunny revel in the excitement of the pending birth — until tragedy strikes. Pregnancy complications result in their worst nightmare, and without warning, Mathew and Sunny find themselves burying their infant son.
After several weeks of mourning, Mathew returns to his successful accounting firm, praying his career and a normal daily routine will put him on the path to true healing. Meanwhile, Sunny has retreated into herself. She’s become a ghost-like figure, drifting silently around their home, completely numb. Mathew fears he’s lost Sunny forever. Sunny’s pain runs so deep, she’s not sure she wants to be found. Will the words contained in a collection of letters help them find their way back to one another?
Unequal Temperament by Cheryl Walsh
From her early aspirations of being an accomplished pianist to her current job as a meteorologist, Morgan has found that life — much like forecasting weather patterns and tuning harpsichords — is far from an exact science.
When her father, the famed painter Jon Tallis, dies unexpectedly, Morgan pushes away her husband, Rob, and the growing chasm threatens their marriage. Can Morgan find solace as an accompanist for the opera Peter Grimes? And if not in the opera, can it be found in the leading man, Ford? Will Morgan and Rob find their way home? And what is home anyway?
Through the lens of art, music and meteorology, Unequal Temperament examines themes of isolation, trauma, infidelity and the subtle ways parents alter the trajectory of their children’s lives.
The Emerald Necklace by Linda Rosen
Three months after her husband’s death in 1969, Rosalee is determined to reclaim her life. For her, that means returning to sculpture. She longs to be recognized as a serious artist, but that requires the courage to submit her work — and be judged.
Her paralyzing insecurity mounts when she meets her neighbor, bestselling author Fran Barish. Fran has the acclaim Rosalee desires, while Rosalee’s joy with her children, especially granddaughter Jill, eats at Fran, a constant reminder of her childlessness. A spiral of mutual envy ensues, constantly bubbling below the surface, intensified by Fran’s long-held secret — and her inexplicable fascination with Jill’s emerald necklace.
As Jill heads to college, Rosalee grows anxious about her granddaughter’s choices, yet beams with pride at Jill’s passion for women’s rights. Together, they travel to New York City for the Women’s Strike for Equality, further heightening the tension between Rosalee and Fran. When Jill’s values are tested, Rosalee must decide: can she trust Fran to help, or will their mutual jealousy make that impossible? Or could the mystery behind Jill’s necklace finally draw them together?
Friends and Other Liars by Kaela Coble
When Ruby St. James returns to her hometown, it is to the grave of her old friend Danny, a member of a group that was, 10 years ago, Ruby’s whole world. The crew made a pact back then: stay together, stay loyal and stay honest. But that was before all of the lies. Because even friends keep secrets. They just don’t stay secret for long.
Now, Danny has left behind a letter for each of them, issuing one final ultimatum: share your darkest betrayal to the group or risk it coming out in a trap he has created. When past mistakes resurface, the lines of friendship blur, and four old friends are left trying to understand what it means to lie to the ones you love best.
The Far End of Happy by Kathryn Craft
Ronnie Farnham’s husband is supposed to move out today. But when Jeff pulls into the driveway drunk with a shotgun in the front seat, she realizes nothing about the day will go as planned. As a massive state police presence descends on the family’s peaceful farm, the next few hours spiral down in a flash, unlike the slow disintegration of their marriage.
Her family’s lives depend on the choices Ronnie will make ― but is what’s best for her best for everyone? Based on a real event from the author’s life, The Far End of Happy is a chilling story of one troubled man, the family that loves him and the suicide standoff that will change them all forever.
