A Song I Knew By Heart A Novel

During a cold Massachusetts winter, a tragic car accident leaves a mother childless and her daughter-in-law a widow. Naomi and Ruth are now each other's only comfort. Naomi lost her own husband eight years ago, and now she has lost her son. Carrying a deep secret in her soul, Naomi decides to return to her childhood home in coastal South Carolina. When she tells Ruth her plan, she receives an unexpected reply: "Where you go, I will go." So the two women plan the journey together, arriving at a place that is flooded with a love they are nearly too fragile to accept. Surrounded by the warmth of their newfound family, Naomi and Ruth begin to find themselves reawakenedand open to the possibility of redemption.

Bret Lott is the author of the novels Jewel (an Oprah Book Club selection in 1999), Reed's Beach, A Stranger's House, The Man Who Owned Vermont, and The Hunt Club; the story collections How to Get Home, A Dream of Old Leaves, and The Difference Between Women and Men; the memoir Fathers, Sons, and Brothers; and Before We Get Started. He and his wife now live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he is the editor of The Southern Review and professor of English at Louisiana State University.