Catherine Wheels

September 1, 2005
Tragedy has stalked Thomas's life for years. First, his mother kills herself, and then his fiancé e, whose own mother was a suicide, commits herself to a sanitarium. The broken engagement propels Thomas to take refuge in Montana with an old friend dying of lupus. When Thomas receives word that his brother, an Episcopal priest, has taken his own life, the layers of grief built up over so much loss almost engulf him until his seven-year-old niece arrives for an indefinite stay while her mother deals with her husband's death. Catherine, a mystical child fascinated by saints, may be Thomas's only hope of recovering his damaged soul and learning to find goodness and joy in his broken world. This lyrical and thought-provoking first novel will appeal to readers of Anne Lamott and Leif Enger and deserves a place in all collections. Peterson, formerly the fiction editor for "Mars Hill Review", lives in northwest Montana.

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