VERONICA'S GRAVE

 A HEARTBREAKING STORY OF LOSS, FAMILY SECRETS AND A DAUGHTER’S SEARCH FOR HER MOTHER.

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER!

 

"Veronica's Grave shows both the warmth of a loving family and the mistakes when secrets are kept.  A compelling tale that gives wonderful insight to the readers."                     
                                                                                           - Mary Higgins Clark
 
"A triumphant story of a woman coming to terms with the loss of her mother and an inspiring,  though haunting, testament to the endurance of the human spirit."
                                     - KIRKUS

2017 IBPA BENJAMIN FRANKLIN SILVER MEDAL

2017 NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS FINALIST

2017 INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD 'DISTINGUISHED FAVORITE'

2016 READERS' FAVORITE SILVER MEDAL FOR MEMOIR

2016 BEVERLY HILLS BOOK AWARDS SILVER MEDAL    

NOMINATED FOR THE 2017 PUSHCART PRIZE

When young Barbara Bracht's mother suddenly vanishes from her life, no one tells her that her mother has died while giving birth to her younger brother, Eddie. Her father is intent upon erasing any memory of his dead wife, but Barbara continues to believe that her mother is missing until a cousin tells her the truth. As the years of deception unravel, the tough and sassy Barbara struggles to pursue her own dreams and make peace with a crushing family secret.

Offering hope, Veronica's Grave is a captivating story that asks us to consider what parents owe their children, and how far a child will go to keep the memory of her mother alive. In 2017,  Harper Collins Canada published the book under the title of Missing Mother. 

To see what others are saying about Veronica’s Grave, go to News & Events.

 

About the Book: Veronica’s Grave 

As memoir is ofttimes a suspect genre, I wanted to address a few issues. The question for authors is what do we remember? It's my belief that we remember most vividly the emotionally-charged events, especially those related to such hot-button feelings as shame, embarrassment, and humiliation. Indeed, drawing upon recent research findings, neuroscientists tell us that the more painful the incident, the more likely to be remembered.

The decision to tell Veronica's Grave with a youthful narrator was made with the hope of placing the reader in the room with the child. Like a fly on the wall. And while the young girl's  perspective is limited,her voice has a compelling intimacy and innocence. All the happenings, conversations, and fallout are factual, with the more repetitive and digressive conversations condensed. The scenes depicted are meant to be impressionist snapshots, fleeting moments in time representative of the fuller picture. If there has been any selective editing, it has not been done at the expense of truth.

Veronica's Grave (aka Missing Mother) highlights a number of issues, including the widespread phenomenon of unresolved childhood grief -- be it from death, divorce or the incarceration of a loved one. Running parallel is the concern about  parental and/or the societal devaluation of girls and women. Ultimately, there is the imperative that when down for the count, you get up off the mat. To quote the inestimable former First Lady of the Untied States: Eleanor Roosevelt: 'One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes...And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.' 

To read what others are saying about the book, please go to News & Events.

Veronica’s Grave: A Daughter’s Memoir is available nationwide. Click on one of the icons below to order from US retailers. 

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With a heart full of gratitude

After years in the works, a number of on-line Gotham Writers courses, and untold hours in front of the computer, She Writes Press published the award-winning Veronica’s Grave: A Daughter’s Memoir  May 9, 2016.

To reach that milestone, there are many who are owed thanks. Starting with my superb editor, Elizabeth Kracht of Kimberley Cameron & Associates of San Francisco and Paris,  who taught me that sometimes less truly is more. To get to ‘less,’ thousands of words were left on the cutting room floor, which Liz has suggested I share with readers. More to come.

Heartfelt thanks are likewise due my publisher, Brooke Warner of She Writes Press–a Platform for Women Who Write;  editorial manager, Lauren Wise of SparkPoint Studio; proofreader extraordinaire Megan Rynott;  Julie Metz for the brilliant cover; interior layout designer Tabitha Lahr; and to all who labored to turn the manuscript into what is a beautiful book.