THE ROAD To second chance

Enter the small town of Second Chance, West Virginia in 1962, where the enchanting landscape belies the poverty of a dying coal town and tragedy shatters the idyllic life of young Laney Mae Martin. When her father dies in a fatal car crash alongside another woman, Laney Mae's life spirals into disarray. Her bitter mother, Faye, uproots Laney Mae and her older brother Neal from their familiar surroundings to the D.C. suburbs. Branded as "hillbillies" in the suburbs, she endures merciless mockery and emotional scars inflicted by a deranged housekeeper and abusive stepfather. Amidst the chaos, Laney Mae finds solace in a portrait of President Kennedy, pouring out her heart and conjuring an idealized father figure. As she navigates an era of assassinations and racial discord, the scars of her past shadow her adulthood and challenge her role as a parent. With her mother's terminal diagnosis, Laney Mae's desperate search for truth takes an unexpected turn. Embark on a poignant journey as Laney Mae unravels secrets, confronts grief, and seeks forgiveness--a second chance that holds the power to heal. This captivating tale of love, resilience, and redemption will grip your heart and leave you pondering the enduring strength of the human spirit.

book cover with car driving on country road beneath the text the road to second chance

I had made an agreement with Death. Silently negotiated, I had promised Death that in exchange for giving my mother more time, it could take the equivalent time off my life. I convinced myself that this had been deemed acceptable because Death had not, despite all the grim predictions of immediacy, arrived.

Excerpt from The Road to Second Chance