

Ellis is horrified when, a mile into the return trip home, she notices that she had left the baby behind. Ellis's twin boys act up, the incessant call of a raven and Ellis's own wrought emotions cause her to forget that she had put her baby daughter's car seat carrier onto the ground next to the van before dealing with one of her son's tantrums. The visit to the woods is destined to be a tragic disaster.

She had just discovered that Jonah, her husband, was cheating on her with another woman.

This forest had always soothed Ellis's aching spirit and had been her only refuge during her often brutal childhood.īut for once, her idyllic surroundings could do nothing to ease Ellis's turbulent thoughts and anguished feelings of betrayal. Her newborn daughter, Viola, lies tranquilly in her child carrier. But despite her mother’s cautions, Raven finds herself longing for something more.Īs Ellis and Raven each confront their powerful longings, their journeys will converge in unexpected and hopeful ways, pulled together by the forces of nature, love, and family.Įllis watches distractedly as her twin sons are catching tadpoles from the river that runs through Wild Wood - a forested area close to the trailer park she had grown up in. With each lesson comes a warning of what dangers lie in the world beyond her isolated haven. Raven spends her days learning how to use her rare gifts-and more important, how to hide them. She must never speak to outsiders about how her mother makes miracles spring from the earth, or about her father, whose mysterious presence sometimes frightens her. In a remote area of Washington, a young girl named Raven keeps secrets inside, too. Convinced she can only do more harm to her family, Ellis leaves her husband and young sons, burying her desperate ache for her children deeper with every step into the mountain wildernesses she treks alone. A breaking point in an already fractured marriage, Viola’s abduction causes Ellis to disappear as well-into grief, guilt, and addiction.

In a moment of crisis, Ellis Abbey leaves her daughter, Viola, unattended-for just a few minutes. One unbearable mistake at the edge of the forest.
