9781608192809

It's June of 1965 when Wrecker enters the world. The war is raging in Vietnam, San Francisco is tripping toward flower power, and Lisa Fay - a young innocent from a family farm down south - is knocked nearly sideways by life as a single mother in a city she could barely manage to navigate as just one. Three years later, she's alone again. Kids aren't allowed in prison. And Wrecker, scared silent, furious, and hell-bent on breaking every last thing that crosses his path, is shipped off to live with distant relatives in the wilds of Humboldt County. Wreckeris the story of this nearly-broken boy whose presence turns a motley group of isolated eccentrics into a real family. Real enough to make mistakes. Real enough to stick together in spite of everything ready to tear them apart. There's no guidebook to mothering for Melody, who thought the best thing in life was eighty acres of old growth along the Mattole River and nobody telling her what to do - until this boy came along. For Melody, for Len, for Willow and Ruth, for Meg and Johnnie Appleseed, life will never again be the same once Wrecker signs on. And for Lisa Fay, there's one thought keeping her alive through fifteen years of hard time. One day? She'll find her son and bring him home. Set amid the giant trees of Northern California's magical Lost Coast,Wreckeris a rich and rollicking novel for anyone who has ever raised a son, or loved someone else's.

Summer Wood is the author of Arroyo. In 2007 she was awarded the Literary Gift of Freedom from A Room of Her Own Foundation for her work on Wrecker. She teaches writing for the University of New Mexico's Taos Summer Writer's Conference and in 2009 directed the first annual NEA/Taos Big Read. She is currently the director of the Young Writers' Mentorship Program and has lived in Taos for the past 20 years.

"Opening Wrecker is akin to unwrapping a gift wrapped with great care. You don't know what is inside, but you know it's something special. Summer Wood, in her second novel, delivers a rare treat in this story of a boy and his mothers. It unfolds along a deliciously unpredictable path, one that can and should be savored." —Denver Post "[An] affecting novel... Wood succeeds with surefooted prose; a lush, earthy California backdrop; and a sensitive story of nurturing and family." —Publishers Weekly

"A sweet adoptive-home story with extra heart and lovingly flawed characters, this second novel by Wood will find its home with fans of Jo-Ann Mapson and Pam Houston." —Library Journal

“Wood moves her characters gracefully through trying times, both cultural and personal.” —Kirkus Reviews

"A page-turner…a literary exploration of how love breaks us and heals us...told in highly crafted prose that wastes not a word and is infused with sensitive insight. Wrecker is an unforgettable novel." —New Mexico Magazine

“Summer Wood’s remarkable novel carves its way, sentence by gorgeous sentence, into the great complexity of love and family and community. Her dialogue is so natural and full we feel as though we are illicitly eavesdropping on these complex, flawed, and full-hearted characters. Wrecker is a tender, stunning novel.” — Meredith Hall, author of Without a Map “Wrecker is a wonderful portrait of a California long lost, but still alive here. Wrecker will wreck your heart and then put it back together again, with the big heart of a chosen family.” —Susan Straight, author of Highwire Moon and Take One Candle Light a Room “This novel is a love song to well intentioned, wholly dedicated, and deeply flawed motherhood. Summer Wood creates more than just a great story, deftly, elegantly, and intricately told. She broadens both our notion of family, and our appreciation for whatever we call our own. Wrecker is a big-hearted, big-loving compassionate book.” — Pam Houston, author of Cowboys Are My Weakness

“Well, I’ve been Wreckered. Drawn in, delighted and devastated by one small boy and the people who love him. Summer Wood has a keen eye for place, and for the ordinary moments in life that become extraordinary in memory. Here, she aims that astute eye on a ragtag group living on the outskirts of society, each member pulled into the same orbit by the centrifugal force that is Wrecker. This book is a fierce and unapologetic celebration of life, a lesson in nurturing, and a reminder of the work it takes to get the real loving done.” —Barb Johnson, author of More of This World or Maybe Another

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Wrecker A Novel

Wrecker A Novel

1608192806

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