"Family Tree"--by Susan Wiggs--a powerful, emotionally complex story of love, loss, and the pain of the past—one woman’s triumph over betrayal, and how she eventually comes to terms with her past and finds promise for the future

Family Tree

Sometimes the greatest dream starts with the smallest element. A single cell, joining with another. And then dividing. And just like that, the world changes.

Annie Harlow knows how lucky she is. The producer of a popular television cooking show, she loves her handsome husband and the beautiful Los Angeles home they share. And now, she’s pregnant with their first child. But in an instant, her life is shattered. And when Annie awakes from a yearlong coma, she discovers that time isn’t the only thing she’s lost.

Grieving and wounded, Annie retreats to her old family home in Switchback, Vermont, a maple farm generations old. There, surrounded by her free-spirited brother, their divorced mother, and four young nieces and nephews, Annie slowly emerges into a world she left behind years ago: the town where she grew up, the people she knew before, the high-school boyfriend turned judge. And with the discovery of a cookbook her grandmother wrote in the distant past, Annie unearths an age-old mystery that might prove the salvation of the family farm.

Family Tree is the story of one woman’s triumph over betrayal, and how she eventually comes to terms with her past. It is the story of joys unrealized and opportunities regained. Complex, clear-eyed and big-hearted, funny, sad, and wise, it is a novel to cherish and to remember. 

 

The Key Ingredient

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs comes a wonderful companion story to her unforgettable novel Family Tree

Every great love story has a beginning. Annie Rush’s started at a food cart in a vibrant city park. Annie, then a film student, came across a ruggedly handsome, charismatic chef serving up gourmet street food to an ever-growing clientele lining up for his creations. Together, Annie and Martin Harlow conceived The Key Ingredient, a cooking show featuring Martin as the star while Annie handles production.

As they travel to Annie’s Vermont hometown to film their pilot episode, she realizes that she might want to create more than television magic with Martin. But does he feel the same way? The weather is miserable, their shoot is a disaster, and the maple syrup just isn’t flowing. While Annie tries to cling to her vision for their show, she can’t help but wonder if she could be as unlucky in work as she is in love. Is she always destined to stay behind the scenes?

Just as some recipes only come together at the last minute with the addition of a key ingredient, sometimes a single moment can change everything—turning Annie’s life into a cornucopia of good fortune, the feast of her dreams.

Reviews

 

“Clever, creative, and ingenious, this is Susan Wiggs at her best. I devoured the book, turning the pages so fast I got a papercut.” -- Debbie Macomber

“Love, loss, passion, and everything in between...I love Susan Wiggs’ novels so much.” -- Jenny Colgan

“A wonderful read, fun and wise, and absolutely delicious.” -- Nancy Thayer, New York Times-bestselling author of The Island House

“Wiggs…[tackles] a complicated dual storyline with her typical blend of authenticity and sensitivity. A compelling exploration of self, family, love, and the power of new beginnings.” -- Kirkus Reviews

“Soul-satisfying...Will delight readers of Robyn Carr and Debbie Macomber...Wiggs writes with effortless grace about what breaks families apart and what brings them back together. Add this to her gift for crafting exquisitely nuanced characters and flair for perfectly capturing the rhythm of life in a small town.” -- Booklist (starred review)

“This sweet yet dramatic and winding love story demonstrates the realities and complexities of love. Recommended for fans of realistic, heartwarming romances full of second chances.” -- Library Journal

“Emotionally honest, poignant and including a delightful thread of humor… Family Tree is a story of one woman’s journey through betrayal and pain to emerge triumph as she learns to embrace the new challenges life has in store for her.” -- RT Book Reviews 

 

 

Susan Wiggs

 

Susan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends...and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and she commutes to her writers' group in a 17-foot motorboat. She serves as author liaison for Field's End, a literary community on Bainbridge Island, Washington, bringing inspiration and instruction from the world's top authors to her seaside community. (See www.fieldsend.org) She's been featured in the national media, including NPR's "Talk of the Nation," and is a popular speaker locally and nationally.

According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. The Winter Lodge and Passing Through Paradise have appeared on PW’s annual "Best Of" lists. Several of her books have been listed as top Booksense picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.

The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. Readers can learn more on the web at www.susanwiggs.com and on her lively blog at www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com.