Book Description
Dr. Maya Simmons, a recent PhD graduate in Epidemiology, is still mourning the death of her father. While going through his personal papers, she discovers a dark secret from her parents’ past. Her quest for the truth leads her to a Tibetan refugee camp in India, where her “mother,” Maggie Hunter, is hiding out from Interpol for her suspected role in a bombing incident during the Vietnam War.
Compelled to track down her estranged mother, Maya disguises her true identity and secures a volunteer position at the refugee camp. With the help of a Tibetan lama, Maya confronts her long-suppressed feelings of abandonment and her fear of accepting Maggie into her life. Ironically, just as they begin their journey of reconciliation, Maya finds herself at the center of solving a deadly epidemic threatening both the refugees and her own mother’s life.
More About This Book
When and Why Should Someone Read It?
If you are searching for the reasons why you were betrayed and abandoned by your parents, this family saga explores the unforeseen reasons behind such seemingly heartless behavior.
Themes, Ideas & Atmosphere
The quest for the truth takes a daughter on an emotional and physical journey from the comfort of her home in Colorado to a refugee camp in the highlands of northern India, where she confronts the reality of her own fragile psyche.
If You Loved These, You'll Love This
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng, The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate, and The Lost Family by Jenna Blum.
The Story Behind the Book
I was always fascinated by the trauma I observed in friends who were estranged from their families and how it persisted in the way they saw the world, as well as the long-term effect it had on their personal relationships.
The Central Question
The emotional journey the main character must undertake is to resolve her sense of abandonment and come to terms with allowing herself to forgive what she once believed she was never capable of forgiving—opening her heart to the full breadth of love.
Times of Clouds and Sun - a gripping family saga by Michael Dane Hager, a book, promoted on Goodkindles for .