In this touching story of family bonds and emotional courage, Catlyn Stacey has survived her best friend's murder, the death of the man who loved her, and the nightmare of her own kidnapping. Now she must survive the trauma that lingers on. Surrounded by caring people, Catlyn perceives a future in the person of an orphaned child, the support of an ad hoc family, and the inspiring words found in a two-hundred-year-old diary written by a distant ancestor. Through them, Catlyn discovers a deep inner strength, a future, and the fortitude of love. "Like the crackle of an ember, it is vibrant with its livid certainty. Like the flush of echoes in an empty shell, it is delicate in its subtlety."