It took me longer than most books to finish this book. I struggled with the magical realism, with the not-quite spelled out trauma, and I didn’t know why until I read the conversation with the author at the end. It’s a must-read section that pulls together all the threads that weave this story. As a trauma survivor, I didn’t recognize my own story within this story, my own uncomfortableness that blocked me from seeing it. Again, the conversation with the author helped tremendously.

At once homespun, frightening, and magical, Misty’s story is every woman’s story who has faced trauma and abuse. This is a book that is easy to sink into yet difficult to wade through, paradoxically comforting and frightening and ultimately healing and comforting again. Kudos to Ashley Bloom for a story well told, a regional story at first glance, yet ultimately a universal story of hurt and healing.