The Secret Book of Flora Lea

by Patti Callahan Henry

“What a cruel thing I did—abandoning a family who’d loved me. But, Kelty, it was all too awful, and then time passed and then more time, and what was I to say? Or do? I was frozen with grief, and when I finally thawed, years later, I didn’t know how to approach them, or what to say. And it’s not like they ever came looking to find me, either.” A defensive bristle of anger filled her next words. “It seemed best to let it stay in the past. Too much hurt to bring it all back for any of us. There was and is nothing I can do to fix it.”