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Thomas, Debra

Alma Cruz wishes her willful teenage daughter, Luz, could know the truth about her past, but there are things Luz can never know about the journey Alma took to the US to find her missing father when she was a young woman. Alma’s father knows her better than anyone else, encouraging her love of math and her dreams of becoming a teacher, so when he disappears in 1997 after leaving home to work on farms in California, a part of her is lost as well. After three years of poverty, Alma and her sister Rosa set out on a perilous journey north to find their father. Along the way, Alma discovers first love and encounters both kindness and profound cruelty. What happens once she reaches the US is a journey from despair to hope. A connection to her father’s past, the truth about a hidden letter, and her determined search to find farmworker-champion Dolores Huerta all help Alma move forward as she finds answers and gains the strength she needs to begin a new life in Los Angeles. A timely novel that illuminates the plight of those desperate to cross the US border, Luz is also timeless in its depiction of the depths of family devotion and the blaze of first love.

Luz: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

United States

She Writes Press

When Josie Serafini’s brother Vic loses his wife and children in a tragic accident, Josie leaves her home and beloved horses in Upstate New York to join him in Los Angeles. While helping Vic pick up the pieces of his shattered life, Josie confronts broken relationships with her estranged father and rebellious, singer-songwriter daughter. Josie and Vic each struggle to find where they belong in their changing worlds. Josie finds comfort in nature and in a budding, long-distance relationship with the empathetic equine veterinarian caring for her horses back home. Vic battles depression as he seeks purpose in his life. Josie’s three horses and a Siberian husky help open hearts to tenderness and healing—but it’s an unexpected journey to the US-Mexico border that offers this fragmented family a chance to reconnect. A story of love, loss, and forgiveness, Josie and Vic conveys hope—even in the darkest of times.

Josie and Vic: A Novel

Literary

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Books by Thomas, Debra