The Secret Book of Flora Lea

by Patti Callahan Henry

“Despair leads us to stories, of course. We invent them so we can live in a world with meaning. I told you stories. We danced to stories. I spun them over fires and over this very kitchen table. What you did—making up a land for Flora and for yourself—gave you both comfort during a very scary time. Dearest Hazel, bad things don’t always have a blaming place to land.”

“Sometimes we have to face our dragons.” “And there’s no knight to save us,”