We Will Plant Birds of Paradise

Sometimes the only way to bloom is to break free

Jess has always followed the rules-marrying young, raising two children, and keeping up appearances in her small, conservative town. But when she can no longer deny the truth she’s kept buried for years, she makes a life-altering choice: she leaves her husband and admits what’s been growing in her heart-she’s in love with her best friend, Pam.

Jess works at her aunt Louanne’s beloved bakery café alongside Louanne’s longtime partner, Vivienne. In their open, joyful home, Jess catches a glimpse of what life could be like: honest, messy, full of flavor-and love. But Jess’s journey is far from simple. Her mother, Rebecca, clings fiercely to her religious convictions, shaped by Jess’s devout grandmother, who once lived as a nun. Coming out doesn’t just shake Jess’s world-it sends shockwaves through generations of silence, shame, and expectation.

As Jess steps into her truth, she faces a reckoning: will she lose the people she loves most, or can something new-something extraordinary-take root in the aftermath?

Told through the voices of multiple generations, We Will Plant Birds of Paradise is a tender, richly drawn debut novel about queer love, family loyalty, inherited faith, and the radical act of blooming in your own time.