Aug 23, 2022
More than just a National Parks champion, Karen Barnett has written some truly wonderful novels with a bit of suspense, a bit of romance, and a whole lot of heart. Her most recent release, When Stone Wings Fly, is one of my top books of the year. I want to say my top... and maybe it is. At least today. Listen in and see why as well as learn the heart behind why Karen wrote the story she did.
How Can Dementia Bring Clarity as Well as Confusion?
This has been the year for books that wreck me. Not all were written during the pandemic as this one was, but I do wonder if God didn't have a plan for when I read what I did. I've felt the emotional impact of so many books this year, and When Stone Wings Fly by Karen Barnett definitely punched me over and over.
With rich language and description that never once trailed off into excess, hard stories that showed the beauty of lives well lived, and the mingling of those stories? Can I just insert a chef's kiss right here? Man!
Let's see... Characters you love? Yep. Got it.
A setting so real it feels like home? Definitely.
Harsh realities of life shown in compassionate but realistic ways? Uh, huh. Got 'em.
An unputdownable (yes, that's a word now) book? Don't you know it.
A rich, spiritual meal woven in so you never feel stuffed by it? Oh, yeah.
By the time I finished When Stone Wings Fly, I wanted to start it all over again. There are so many things about this book that still haunt me, and Karen Barnett gives us glimpses of why in this interview.
Even better... we get a glimpse of what is coming next. EEEP!
Oh, and that question? How can dementia bring clarity as well as confusion? I'll give this answer. When someone cares enough to sift through the confusion to help bring about that clarity--to find the truth buried in faulty memories and history.
When Stone Wings Fly by
Karen Barnett
Uncovering a long-lost family story is the only way to bring her grandmother peace
Kieran Lucas's grandmother is slipping into dementia, and, when her memory is gone, Kieran's last tie to the family she barely knows will be lost forever. Worse, Granny Mac is being tormented by flashbacks of her mother’s death and the loss of their home.
In 1931, Rosie McCauley's Smoky Mountains home is threatened by the Tennessee Great Smokies Park Commission as they create a new national park. But Rosie vows the only way they'll get her land is if they haul her out in a pine box. When a compromise offers her and her disabled sister the opportunity to stay for her lifetime, it seems too good to be true.
Ornithologist Benton Fuller arrives to conduct a bird survey for the park and the two form a tenuous bond. But their friendship broadens a rift between her and the other mountain folk who are suspicious of any government connections. Then the discovery of an illegal still in the woods near her cabin leads to a violent clash between sides that could destroy them all.
Eighty-five years later, Kieran heads back to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to find answers to her great-grandmother's mysterious death and bring peace to Granny Mac before it's too late. Park Historian Zach Jensen may be the key to locating both the answers and a precious family heirloom. But just as in the past, Kieran's needs clash with government regulations. Will Zach block her from recovering what she needs and solving this family mystery?
You can find out more about Karen Barnett on her WEBSITE (and you can get the Christmas novella that goes with The Road to Paradise!) Oh, and for the curious? Yes, I did order Mistaken. It's on its way. Can't wait to read it.