The Road to After

This powerful debut novel in verse is a portrait of healing, as a young girl rediscovers life and the soothing power of nature after being freed from an abusive father.

For years, Lacey has been a captive without even realizing it. Her dad rarely let her, or her sister and their mom, out of his sight. But this situation changes dramatically the day her grandparents arrive to help them break free. It’s the beginning of a different kind of life for Lacey, and at first she has a hard time letting go of her dad’s rules of what’s allowed. Gradually, though, his hold on her lessens, and her days become filled with choices she’s never had before. Now Lacey can take pleasure in satisfying her curiosity about nature’s details and rhythms. Being outside watching birds fly by or making things grow brings her joy, as does the freedom to wander and sketch in her nature journal whenever she likes. Learning to make friends proves to be a bit trickier--but soon she discovers there are rhythms for that, too, if she is willing to learn.

Rebekah Lowell’s poignant novel shows readers that it’s possible to find your own way no matter what soil you’ve been planted in, and that there is always time for life to blossom into something new and exciting.

Rebekah Lowell (RebekahLowell.com) is an author-illustrator with a passion for the natural world. As a survivor of domestic abuse, she has found the outdoors to be healing grounds, and when not in her studio, you can find her outside birding, gardening, raising butterflies--often with her daughters, whom she homeschools. She has a BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Children’s Literature and Illustration from Hollins University. Her artwork has been featured on the Maine Duck Stamp four times, and she is also an art educator. She lives with her family in her hometown of Biddeford, Maine.