Called home to a funeral in Monte Alto, a small ranching community in New Mexico, journalist Maggie Chilton finds herself face to face with everything she left behind when she graduated from high school. Against the harsh beauty of the landscape and the memories it holds, three generations of women--Maggie, her mother, and her teenage daughter--struggle to make peace with each other and the land they love.
"What a read! Sharon Niederman has a real genius for illuminating the lives of individuals seeking one last shot at redemption in a landscape that demands too much. . . . Niederman has given us a global tale, one of place and displacement, where love and hope somehow persist whenever people dare to call a place home."--Demetria Martinez, author of Mother Tongue
"A realistic and convincing novel. Sharon Niederman portrays the true spirit and tenacity of the women of the rural Southwest."--Linda Davis, CS Ranch, Cimarron, New Mexico
"I don't think I've ever read anything so real about New Mexico. Niederman gets the land, the people, the talk, the issues, the places and how they look and smell and how warm and true they are. Her powers of observation and her deep empathy and love of New Mexico ring true."--V. B. Price, author of The Oddity
Award-winning author and photographer Sharon Niederman has written about the state for more than twenty-five years, authoring and photographing ten books on New Mexico history, culture, cuisine, art, and travel. She teaches writing and Southwest literature and directs the Writing Center at Trinidad State Junior College in Colorado. She lives in Raton with her husband and two dogs.