Quarterfinalist for the 2021 BookLife Prize

"It is apparent that the author has carefully crafted each line of prose. Her words are meaning-laden and potent, with not one wasted word or syllable." -Publisher's Weekly reviewer for the Booklife Prize

In this bold and lyrical debut, Sondra weaves personal narrative with philosophical themes, crafting a story about love, solitude, and the unsayable urges that run beneath our lives.

Sleeping in the woods outside a medieval city in Spain, Sondra ponders her decision to abandon a more ordinary life. "I am here to decipher nature," she writes. "But as the stone glints back, I know this is a lie. Humans can decipher nothing but their own small lives."

Entranced by a mysterious musician, yet yearning for the man she left behind, she struggles to find the path to connection while retaining her identity. As she befriends people on the margins, she is compelled to confront the ways pain and privilege haunt both relationships and societies. In the process, she finds love in unlikely places and healing at the limits of language.