First published 2012
Cathy Benson arrives in Kersey as an orphaned eleven-year-old, thrust into a Texas Panhandle town where Friday night lights rule everything. Two classmates quickly draw her into their circle: John Caldwell and Trey Don Hall, rising football stars who see something special in the new girl. The three forge connections that run deeper than teenage romance or shared dreams of gridiron glory. But a devastating incident casts a long shadow over the boys as they grow into men. The friends scatter after graduation, pursuing separate paths that take them far from Kersey's dusty streets. Decades pass before they return to their hometown at age forty, carrying the weight of choices made and opportunities lost. Their reunion forces them to confront what they left behind and what they've become. Meacham weaves their story across time, revealing how a single moment in youth can ripple through entire lives, shaping careers, relationships, and the very people they choose to be.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
Setting: Kersey, Texas Panhandle
Period: Decades
466 pages · Hardcover · Grand Central Publishing