Phyllis H Moore

The Ember Months Phyllis H Moore

In a story reminiscent of Alice Hoffman and Fannie Flagg, a revisit to a rural town and a previous marriage, forces a young woman to examine her own relationship with death and loss. Lucy, a young social worker, struggles to deal with the judgement of the community about one of her favorite clients, Bessie Bland. She witnesses first-hand the burdens Bessie deals with on a daily basis and admires her positive attitude. They become friends and Lucy accepts Bessie as a wiser, older spirit in her life. Lucy's boss, Millie, appreciates their relationship and encourages it, knowing Lucy's history of loss and her soft-hearted nature for those less fortunate. Years later, Lucy has married and moved away from Millie and Bessie, but she continues to correspond and keep up with their families. An unexpected phone call summons her back to them and Lucy is confronted with an event she could never have anticipated. Was the community justified in suspecting Bessie of neglect, or was there something bigger? Bessie created the ember months and a world where her family could live and ignore the rules of the rest of the society. Lucy respected their alternate existence, but had Bessie gone too far? Nothing makes sense until Lucy is able to piece together the fragments of her own losses and recognize that what she can be grateful for is bigger than all of the pieces of her past. But can she accept what Bessie has done?