The Prayer Box

July 8, 2013
Journeys begin with one single step, as Tandi Reese discovers in Wingate’s masterful exploration of the road to redemption. Tandi is a single mother of two children with a checkered history. Flight from her adult past leads her to North Carolina’s Hatteras Island, a place where she’d found comfort during her tumultuous childhood, to a cottage owned by Iola Anne Poole, an older resident and sometime town pariah. When Iola dies, Tandi is charged with clearing the older woman’s large house—and in doing so comes across spiritual treasures beyond compare. At times both sweet and sad, soul-warming and heartbreaking, the accessible writing style and attention to detail serve to enrobe readers in the love poured into weaving together the lives of Iola and Tandi in a meaningful, rich way. Relatable characters and vivid portrayals of events both current and historical create an enchanting, memorable pilgrimage into the fullness of faith and love. Agent: Claudia Cross, Folio Literary Management.

Starred review from August 1, 2013
On the run from a powerful, abusive ex-husband, Tandi Jo Reese finds refuge in a deserted caregiver's cottage on Hatteras Island. The locals assume that she's there to take care of the main house, and they offer her friendship and support. Hiding from a wealthy criminal is a harrowing endeavor, and things are especially difficult for Tandi, since she has two children. Tandi then discovers the unusual heritage left behind by the deceased owner of the big house, Iola Ann Poole, who kept a prayer box for each year of her life. As Tandi reads the contents of each box, she is inspired by Iola's rich life and absolute faith. But Tandi's road to faith and trust is not an easy one. She still has the tendency to choose the wrong kind of man, and her teenage daughter's rebellion is out of hand. With a careful eye to detail and a beautiful, lyrical style reminiscent of those of Mary Alice Monroe and Patti Callahan Henry, Wingate vividly sets Tandi's struggles in a once beautiful Victorian mansion now falling to ruin and guarded by a cranky cat in a small town recovering from the ravages of a hurricane.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)