For Her Debut Novel, Author Andrea Weir Draws on Her Own Childhood Loss
In 'A Foolish Consistency,' children grieve a mother's death and a family learns not only that they can survive tragedy but find joy on the other side
Sep 11, 2014, 01:28 ET
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Sept. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In her debut novel, A Foolish Consistency, author Andrea Weir uses her own childhood loss to explore the process of grieving and the importance of working through feelings of pain and sorrow rather than trying to avoid them.
Weir was only 11 years old when her mother died, and she has struggled with that loss throughout her life. When she learned about the I Have a Friend® program created by Hospice of Santa Barbara, she realized she could use her experience in a productive way and help others who are working through their own grief. The program matches adults who lost a parent as a child with children who recently lost a parent.
"I was inspired by the program to use fiction as a means of exploring the grief and sense of loss children experience when a parent dies — in this case, a mother — and how the surviving adults can help them through the process of healing," Weir explained.
When a trip to the emergency room on Christmas Eve brings Callie Winwood together with Will Tremaine — the man she once thought she'd marry but has not seen in 25 years — their chance meeting reignites feelings each has harbored for more than two decades. Their journey toward one another is anything but simple, however. Following the death of his wife two years earlier — which he believes he caused — Will has devoted himself to his two young children, helping them adjust to life without their mother.
"But the novel is more uplifting than sad," Weir noted. "It's a great love story about finding the joy that exists on the other side of grief and accepting life in all its iterations."
Andrea Weir is a writer and journalist whose work has appeared in magazines and newspapers around the world. A Foolish Consistency is her debut novel.
A Foolish Consistency is published by Cedar Forge Press. At a list price of $18.99, the 342- page paperback is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, iBooks, IndieBound and Wordery. The release date is September 15, 2014.
SOURCE Cedar Forge Press