Death, Loss, Fairytales, Trees, Magic, Love = #harrystrees #joncohen #mira #trees #fairytales #magic @absltmom

There are times in all our lives when what we truly need is a little bit of magic. In the book Harry’s Trees, Harry is due for some and so is Amanda and Oriana. For you see these three people have just experienced the very worst tragedy. Harry has lost his beloved wife, while Amanda has lost her husband and Oriana a father.

“There are no guarantees, except that every morning, the sun will rise. No matter what happens, good or bad, each day will be followed by a new day.”

As is so often the case, they blame themselves for the loss. Harry’s if only is one in which if only he had stayed with his wife instead of leaving her standing on the street, when he went to buy a lottery ticket, she would still be alive. Amanda, a nurse, has her if only moments when she believes she could have saved her husband from the terrible fate that befell him. If only she had been there, if only she had kissed him goodbye. While Oriana, their daughter, is fraught with grief. She is given a book by a wonderful old librarian and in that book is the bit of magic she believes she needs to bring her father back.“What else is a library, but a temple of truth? What other function do books have, the great ones, but to change the reader? Books to comfort. But most of all, books to disturb you forward.” It’s the book, the forest, Harry’s love for trees and a tragedy that will befall Harry, that brings these three together and sets them upon an adventure into the mystical, the magical, a tale of the whimsical delight, a tale of love. “Reading solves most things. Or at least assuages the heart.”

It’s a lovely story, one that evokes the ways in which sometimes in our search for money, we often lose our pathway. It is a story of blame, of wounding ourselves because we can’t face the loss of love. It is a story of always trying to be something, anything than what you are. It is a story of love, a love so strong it propels people to the realization that finding a way through tragedy is often found by helping others who also have traveled this same sad road.

The characters, the story line, the tragedies, the love, all come together to provide the reader with a walk on a magical road. Recommended for those who not only believe in magic but also for those who dream of ways in which we can all come together and make our days and nights something wonderful.

and here’s the author:

A former critical care nurse, Jon Cohen is the author of “The Man in the Window” and “Max Lakeman and the Beautiful Stranger.” Jon is the recipient of a creative writing grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and is the co-writer of the film “Minority Report,” directed by Steven Spielberg. His latest novel is “Harry’s Trees.”

Jon lives with his wife outside of Philadelphia.