The Moonlight Healers
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
An emotionally powerful debut with a magical twist, set between WWII France and present-day Appalachia, about generations of women in a family, their secret healing abilities, and the mysterious consequences they must contend with when they use their skills on someone they love
“A profound tale of love, family legacy, secrets, and the extraordinary power within us all.... A deeply felt debut.”
—PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea
For generations, the Winston women have possessed an unspoken magical gift: they can heal with the touch of a hand. It’s a tradition they’ve always had to practice in secret, in the moonlight hours, when the fireflies dance and the whippoorwill birds sing.
But not every healer has rightfully passed on this knowledge to her descendants, and for young Louise Winston, the discovery of her abilities comes in less-than-ideal circumstances—she brings her best friend back from death following an accident, the day after he professed his long-held feelings for her, five days before she’s supposed to move away.
Desperate for answers, and to avoid this new reality between them, Louise escapes to her grandmother’s lush Appalachian orchard. There, she uncovers her family’s hidden history in a tattered journal, stemming back to her brave great-grandmother who illicitly healed Allied soldiers in war-torn France. But just as Louise begins to embrace her unique legacy, she learns that it can also come with a mysterious cost. And with a life hanging in the balance, she’ll be forced to make the most impossible of choices…
Spanning eighty years, The Moonlight Healers is a deeply empathetic, heartfelt novel about mothers and daughters, life and death, and the beautiful resilience of love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Becker's enchanting debut tracks the magical healing abilities passed down through one family for several generations. In 1942 Rouen, France, Helene works at Hôtel-Dieu, a convent turned military hospital. Already uncertain in the innate skills as a healer she's inherited through her maternal line, Helene encounters an unforeseen obstacle to using her gift in the form of her devout cousin, Cecelia, who also works at the hospital and believes that their powers come from the devil. But in the aftermath of the disastrous Allied landing at Dieppe, Helene cannot resist using her magic to save one of the soldiers from the brink of death. In 2019, Helene's great-granddaughter Louise is driving home from a party with her best friend, Peter, when they get into a car accident, sending Louise's life reeling in a direction she never expected. Family secrets come to light as Louise's and Helene's paths begin to mirror each other. Becker skillfully braids the timelines to create a powerful ode to the strength of those who have dedicated their lives to healing and caregiving work. The magical elements are light enough that this is sure to have crossover appeal. Fans of Heather Webb and Alice Hoffman ought to take a look.
