Short Book Reviews: Louisa Morgan's Powerful Take on Ghosts, Abuse, and Friendship

Louisa Morgan is a writer of astonishing depth and power.Now she brings her superb talents to a modern tale of abuse, friendship, andhope.

Clinical psychologist Beatrice Bird has always had a touchof “second sight,” a benign and occasionally useful talent for lucky guesses. Animpulsive experiment with psychedelics during the Haight-Ashbury era transformsher intuitive gift. Now she sees ghostly figures attached to living people,embodiments of abuse, terror, and guilt. As the years pass, thesemanifestations become increasingly difficult to endure. She flees to a remoteisland community, where her only social contacts are a few nuns and a pair of opinionatedcows. Just as she settles in to a life of isolation, her life collides withthat of another refugee. Timid Anne Iredale is clearly on the run, willing togo to any lengths to hide her identity as the wife of a powerful judge.Beatrice’s gift, however, reveals the most horrific phantoms yet: a mewlingchild clinging to Anne and a specter of unalloyed evil looming over them both.Soon the two are thrown together on a journey of courage, healing, andredemption.

Morgan tackles complex and difficult issues with compassion,intelligence, and page-turning drama. The story unfolds like a spiral, circlingthrough two very different lives, past and present, peeling away layers of illusionand façade until they are woven together in a triumphant, deeply moving unity.Clear your schedule before opening this book, because once you start reading,you won’t want to put it down!