New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs’ new novel, Map of the Heart, opens with what should have been just another day in the life of former adrenaline junkie Camille Palmer. In the wake of her husband Jace’s horrendous death, Camille has constructed a stifling, safe life for her daughter, Julie, and herself. Years have passed since Jace died, but Camille has been so busy hanging onto his memory and trying to wrap her ninth grader in figurative cotton batting that she’s completely overlooked the signs that Julie is in trouble.
Even once events force Camille to realize she’s smothering her child, she can’t let go of the fear she’s lived with since watching her husband die. She resists getting sucked into her father Henry and Julie’s excitement when the arrival of a mysterious package gives them a glimpse into their family’s past, even as it raises more questions than provides answers. Camille reluctantly accompanies her family to Henry’s hometown in the south of France. Conversations there with old acquaintances, as well as concerted attempts to unravel the mysteries of her father's childhood, eventually lead the family back to the final years of World War II. And with the help of the one man she hasn’t been able to ignore, a retired Naval officer and now historian who specializes in repatriating the missing remains of soldiers, Camille may find a far brighter future than she ever envisioned for herself.
Wiggs seamlessly weaves a multigenerational story that will make you laugh, make you cry and leave you with a sigh of satisfaction as you turn the final page.
