...a character-driven novel, rooted in the complex emotions of loss, love, forgiveness, and understanding. The storyline is smooth and emotional, and will resonate with readers long after the final page. BookLife PrizeWhen a car accident kills her daughter, Clarice is left to care for her eight-year-old autistic grandson, Eric. Overwhelmed with grief and the responsibility of raising an unruly special needs child, Clarice contacts the boy's estranged father, Matthew, a Marine. She does not tell him that his son is autistic.Eric doesn't understand the concept of death, and he becomes obsessed with finding his mother in heaven.On Matthew's final mission in Afghanistan, an explosion injures him and kills one of his men. Though Matthew represses the trauma, that day haunts him and contributes to his already festering PTSD.When Matthew meets Eric for the first time, he is furious with Clarice for not telling him about the boy's problems, and he storms from the house. After a drinking binge and soul searching, he commits to building a relationship with Eric, but as his attachment to Eric grows, so does Clarice's.The relationship between Clarice and Matthew is tense. Matthew blames Clarice's family for keeping his son from him. Clarice thinks Matthew deserted her daughter, and only later in the story do they discover that they were all deceived by Clarice's late husband, who had turned Matthew away when he came to ask for Megan's hand in marriage.Clarice becomes involved with a self-centered man who pressures her to turn custody of Eric over to Matthew. Clarice, however, has concerns about Matthew's PTSD.Matthew's anger issues and drinking keep him from truly connecting with Eric, Clarice, and a young woman he's started seeing.A trip to Griffith Park Observatory, where Eric thinks he will see heaven, results in Eric publicly melting down, and Matthew losing his cool in front of his girlfriend and Clarice, violently dragging Eric from the observatory.Clarice breaks up with her boyfriend, but he later shows up at her house drunk. He and Matthew fight, and when Matthew almost renders the older man unconscious, Clarice realizes she must take custody of Eric. Horrified by Matthew's anger and aggression, his girlfriend breaks up with him. Despondent, Matthew tries to hang himself in his garage, but Clarice finds him, and paramedics rush him to the hospital. While tending Matthew at his bedside, Clarice realizes that Matthew is more than Eric's father. He has become a son, and her daughter's tragic death brought forth an unbreakable bond between Clarice and Eric. A family worth saving.At Clarice's urging, Matthew reluctantly seeks treatment. The therapist helps Matthew recall his last day in Afghanistan and the explosion that killed his Corporal. He is finally able to look at the events without self-blame. She opens a door for Matthew to consider the possibility that he is capable and trustworthy to raise Eric.Clarice, Matthew, and Eric begin the process of building a life together.
