The Eve Tree: A Novel

From Ecowomen.net: "A beautiful and haunting tale about generations connected by livelihood and place, Ford evokes the great books by Kingsolver and Steinbeck. Lush prose, conflicted characters so vividly drawn you would recognize them passing them on the street, and a gorgeous taste of environmental debate. Ford never gets pedantic, but blends thoughtful reflection and the urgency of fighting fires both metaphoric and literal in this expertly written novel." Author Rachel Devenish Ford presents a debut novel rich with emotion and need. Ten years ago, when her mother retired, Molly Boscelli was called back to her family ranch and goat farm, deep in the remote hills of Northern California. For years she has resented the strong ties of responsibility, but now she finds herself scrambling to find help as a forest fire approaches, threatening the place that she only now realizes is her sanctuary. Written in three points of view, The Eve Tree tells the story of Molly as she works to overcome mental illness and gathers determination to save her land from fire, of her husband, Jack, as he faces the thing he fears most, and of Molly's mother as she digs deeply into the past to find the healing that both she and Molly need. It is a novel about the beauty and difficulty of loving people, the desperation and longing of commitment, and a family who work to find their place on the earth in the shape of their land.