In the Salt

In The Salt When her mother's life ends in a mysterious accident, Maggie Atwood must face the legacy of alcoholism and lies that she fled from years before. From the safety of her new life in New Orleans with the man of her dreams, she reluctantly makes her way back to the town where it all began and the past she's tried to forget. It's been over two years since Maggie stepped foot in Haven, a small seaside town on the Massachusetts shoreline, and even longer since she spoke to her mother. The charismatic and troubled Vivian, serial wife and drinker, was a tough woman to love, though everyone did, and now she was dead. Maggie knows that she cannot move forward without diving backwards into the chaos and characters that defined her youth. Upholding a generations long tradition of self-medicating, Maggie navigates her way through thinly suppressed rage and childhood fears in an attempt to figure out what finally really happened to her mother. Swaddled in a haze of Valium and sarcasm, she begins to suspect that her mother's death was not an accident. Determined to understand the motivation behind a lifetime of drunken deception, Maggie delves into the long-buried secrets of her eccentric, wealthy family. What she finds is the heartbreaking truth behind her mother's infectious pain, and with it finally, peace. In The Salt is a novel that seeps into your skin and your bones like a cold New England day. Vivid in detail, imagery and emotion, Maggie's journey from anger to acceptance is one that anyone with an unconventional family can relate to. Is there any other kind?

Hays Trott Blinckmann is a writer, interior designer and painter. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Tufts University and a Master’s of Fine Arts from the Museum School, both in Boston. She specializes in oil painting and has had several gallery shows in Florida and New England. Hays lives in Key West, FL with her husband and two young sons. In The Salt is her first novel. Please visit haysblinckmann.com for more information.