Grief has a way of unearthing what we would rather ignore. When Kate Talbott's husband, Raj, dies suddenly of a heart attack, the life she has so carefully constructed disappears with him. Newly widowed at forty-four, Kate retreats with her eleven-year-old daughter to True Farm, the sprawling Connecticut property that has belonged to her family for generations--and where Raj's ashes now lie buried. As Kate sorts through the digital remains of her husband's life, she discovers that their seemingly solid marriage held secrets of its own. Meanwhile, the farm pulls her deeper into memories of her complicated parents, her own fraught relationship with food and perfection, and the family history she has spent much of her adulthood trying to escape. What begins as a summer of mourning becomes an excavation--of a marriage, a family, and ultimately Kate herself. To move forward, she must confront what has been hidden beneath generations of privilege, silence, and carefully maintained appearances and decide what deserves to be carried into the future.
Rich Soil : A Novel