Joan Frank

Douglas Trevor

Robert Boswell

Federico Falco

Bill Roorbach

Alexandra Marshall

Ted Kehoe

Andria Nacina Cole

Patricia Buddenhagen

Ploughshares Omnibus Volume 4

The Silence Of Your Name revolves around the suicide of Marshall's charismatic and idealistic young husband, Tim Buxton, while they were in Ghana with Operation Crossroads Africa - a progenitor of the Peace Corps. Marshall weaves in her husband's hidden family history, one tied to Boston's wealthy social scene and the deaths of notorious Black Sun publisher Harry Crosby and Tim's aunt Josephine Rotch Bigelow. By allowing readers to experience these distinct periods of time in great detail, Marshall illuminates the toxic effects of denial across classes and generations. As Marshall moves on with her life, now a novelist and young widow, she must navigate her way in the '70s publishing world with the guidance of her friend Philip Roth, while still processing the grief of losing her husband. Decades later, Marshall finds herself in the footprints of her past, journeying to Ghana and reuniting with a royal Queen-Mother and the steadfast community that offered her its support decades earlier. As Pulitzer Prize-winning author Megan Marshall writes, she "is relentless in her quest for understanding and release from grief and guilt [...] but wisdom comes incrementally and her readers partake eagerly at each stage until we, too, have learned that grief may be transformed into love - and brilliant, soothing prose."

The Afterlife of a Suicide

The Silence of Your Name

Explores the ecological relationships of the plant and animal life of a freshwater pond during each season of the year.

Still Waters

"Finally, a book about grown-ups," said Ellen Goodman of Something Borrowed, a sparkling love story of unresolved relationships and unexpected second chances. Gale and Gary are a divorced couple reunited, after fifteen years, at their son's wedding - where, to their own astonishment, old passions are rekindled. It's a novel "full of wise observation, mordant wit, and a fine comic sense . . . a pleasure to read" (San Francisco Chronicle).

Something Borrowed

At the center of this "straight-to-the-gut" (Publishers Weekly) novel is strong, lovely Augusta--Gus--wife and mother of three children, who is dying of cancer. In her last weeks she sits for a sculptor capturing her spirit in bronze--a brave final gesture for her young family. "Above all, this poetic story is about the small, strange, and important ways people have of expressing love" (Christian Science Monitor).

Gus in Bronze

This is a story about a man who becomes a widower and must raise his two children alone. Luke and the children have become reclusive. After their mother's death, Ben and Sarah have no desire to celebrate Christmas. A Christmas tree lot, owned by a kind, elderly man, is visited by the people in the village each Christmas. There are shops and cafes offering cider, cocoa, and coffee adjacent to the tree lot. The Christmas Tree Man notices that Luke and his children have not come to buy a tree. He sends a gift to the family. One year passes, and the second year, as Christmastime arrives, he notes that they did not buy a tree and decides to visit the family. A third Christmas approaches, the children seem happier and tell Luke that they want a Christmas tree this year. Soon thereafter, they go to the Christmas tree lot and pick out a tree. It is a very unusual tree. As they go inside the shop to pay for it, a beautiful lady offers them some hot cocoa. It is Mary, the Christmas Tree Man's daughter. Luke and Mary are instantly attracted to each other, and soon begin a relationship. The children remark that Mary looks like a woman in their dreams. The very special tree that the children have picked out is planted outside, near the small village church. For the first time in three years, Ben and Sarah want to decorate the home for Christmas and send Christmas cards. Luke is very happy. Christmas Eve arrives and after church, Luke and the children are invited to dinner with the Christmas Tree Man and Mary. That evening, Luke and Mary become engaged. Everyone is elated. In the spring, a wedding is held in the small village church. The sun shines through the stained glass windows of the church and fills the ground by the little Christmas tree with hues of color, creating a wondrous scene of beauty. 2

Alexandra Marshall

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