Willa's Grove
(eBook)

You are invited to the rest of your life. Three women, from coast to coast and in between, open their mailboxes to the same intriguing invitation. Although leading entirely different lives, each has found herself at a similar, jarring crossroads. Right when these women thought they'd be comfortably settling into middle age, their carefully curated futures have turned out to be dead ends. The sender of the invitation is Willa Silvester, who is reeling from the untimely death of her beloved husband and the reality that she must say goodbye to the small mountain town they founded together. Yet as Willa mourns her losses, an impossible question keeps staring her in the face: So now what? Struggling to find the answer alone, fiercely independent Willa eventually calls a childhood friend who happens to be in her own world of hurt-and that's where the idea sparks. They decide to host a weeklong interlude from life, and invite two other friends facing their own quandaries. Soon the four women converge at Willa's Montana homestead, a place where they can learn from nature and one another as they contemplate their second acts together in the rugged wilderness of big sky country. "So what's next? That's the big question in the fiction debut from memoirist M will be able to relate to the themes of female friendship and personal growth." "Women have always searched for community during life's critical crossroads, but it's the rare novel that nails the tone and tempo of what it feels like to embed with kindred spirits and share stories, joys, and fears from the heart. Every reader will relate to this beautiful story in powerful and personal ways. I cherished my time with Willa's Grove, sitting in this circle of women who, by the end, felt like best friends." "This is the novel we need right now. Willa's Grove is an affirmation of creativity, sisterhood, and the power of belonging. The simple act of taking care of one another moves mountains. Don't tell anyone, but I think Laura Munson might have just made me a better person." "I love this wonderful novel about women, friendship, and our deep-rooted need for community. Laura Munson has created a memorable and deeply relatable character in Willa Silvester. You'll want to give this book to your best friend the minute you finish reading it." "Willa's Grove is the book my heart needed right now. When I finished it, I held it to my chest and took a long, deep breath. It's a love letter to female friendships, to the power of vulnerability, to the strength of community, and daring to live authentically. An absolute must-read." "Reading Willa's Grove is like going to a girls' weekend where everyone spills their guts and tells the truth about their apparently not-so-perfect lives. It's truthful, raw, and, well, totally fun." "[A] stirring the backdrop of a gorgeous landscape and an abundant kitchen, Willa's Grove shows the insights, comfort, and courage that women can find in community. It just might inspire you to seek a community-and a new adventure-of your own." "A story of new friendships and old desires, secrets and regrets, Willa's Grove is just the midlife vacation read every woman needs to spur her on and grab hold of 'So now what?' I didn't read this aching and inspiring novel as much as wrapped myself up in it, following the heartache, yearning, and triumph in each woman's personal story."