The Storykeeper is easily one of the best books I’ve read all year. Actually, I listened to it and if you like audiobooks, then I definitely recommend that. I was first intrigued by the story because it’s set with the publishing world as a backdrop. A world I’m working very hard to enter. But at its core, this story is about reconciling your past in order to fully life in your future.

Jen Gibbs has fled her remote mountain upbringing to work as an editor in a New York publishing house, but a long discarded manuscript pulls her to the home of her childhood where the future she left behind roars back into her present.

Evan Hall abandoned stories of Appalachian life when a series of books about time travel within the mountains skyrocketed him to global stardom. Now he’s retreated to his compound on the top of a summit, trapped by the fame that provides for his family. The last thing he wants is to hear from another editor. Ever.

Past and Present Collide…

As Jen tries to get Evan on board, chapters from the faded story are woven into the present time narrative. The contrast between present day and the early 1900’s in the Blue Ridge are startling. The dialect and lifestyle differences beautifully laid out. But are they really so different from the scant choices Jen’s sisters have, the ones who never left?

At times. this novel reduced me to tears with the bleak nature of certain birthrights, but then the simple joy of life roared to the fore. This story is a masterpiece. I am a writer and I don’t have the words to adequately recommend this book. If you like writing to resonate somewhere in the pit of your stomach, to move you, to adjust your thinking, then this is a must read.

The Story Keeper by @LisaWingate This story is a masterpiece. I am a writer and I don't have the words to adequately recommend this book. Share on X