by Rachel Simon
First published 2011
Lynnie, a young white woman who cannot speak, and Homan, a deaf Black man, fall deeply in love inside the closed institution where their families abandoned them. In 1968, they break free together and wander for days until a storm forces them to seek shelter at retired widow Martha's farm. Lynnie has just given birth to a daughter. When police raid the farmhouse, Homan flees into the dark forest while officers capture Lynnie. Before they drag her away, she whispers two difficult words to Martha: "Hide her." The storm that night begins a forty-year separation. Lynnie returns to confinement. Homan disappears. Martha raises baby Julia in secret. Seemingly impossible barriers keep the family apart for decades, but their shared secret and extraordinary love pull them toward reunion.
Genres: romance, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, second-chance
Setting: Africa, United States
Period: 1968, 20th Century, 21st Century
352 pages · Paperback · Boekerij
Content warnings: abuse, racism