First published 2009
Seventeen-year-old Nit Spindle stands outside Hennie Comfort's house, staring at the weathered sign that reads "Prayers For Sale." The year is 1936, and the Depression has driven Nit and her husband to the mountains of Middle Swan, Colorado, where they hope to find work. Hennie is eighty-six and has called these mountains home since before Colorado became a state. She doesn't actually sell prayers, but something about the young woman draws her attention. Both women carry the weight of harsh lives and deep losses. Their unlikely friendship begins when Hennie invites Nit inside. As the seasons change in the high country, the two women share their darkest secrets and greatest hardships. Hennie reveals stories from decades of mountain life, while Nit opens up about the struggles that brought her to this remote place. Their bond deepens as they discover how much they need each other. Dallas crafts a story about the connections that sustain us through difficult times and the ways women support each other across generations.
Genres: american-fiction, friendship, 20th-century, contemporary, adult-fiction, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unlikely-friendship
Setting: Colorado, Middle Swan
Period: 1936
305 pages · Hardcover · St. Martin's Press