Publisher's Synopsis
A mother searching for connection. A river journey that changes everything. A tree that bears witness to it all.
Valerie is losing her daughter. Once inseparable, she now watches Evelyn drift further away with each passing day. Desperate to reconnect, she plans a rafting trip down the wild and remote Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho's Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness-one last chance to bridge the growing gap between them. With her husband David along for the ride, she hopes nature's raw beauty might restore what life's distractions have eroded with their relationship too.
But the river has plans of its own.
Guiding their boat is Maggie, a young woman caught between the freedom of the outdoors and the pull of unfinished dreams. She's doing her best to convince herself that this will be her final rafting season before returning to college-but Valerie's quiet strength stirs something in her, forcing Maggie to commit herself to her goals and what truly matters.
And upstream, Andy-a wildland firefighter burdened by a past he can't outrun-watches a wildfire creep closer to the river corridor. When he risks his job to warn the rafters, their worlds collide in ways none of them could have predicted.
Threaded through their stories is the silent sentinel of the wilderness: a centuries-old ponderosa pine, standing high above the canyon. It has weathered fire, flood, and time-but even it must fall.
When a Tree Falls in a Forest is a powerful, meditative novel about motherhood, resilience, and the unseen ways lives intertwine in the wild as well in every day life. Set against the backdrop of one of America's last great wildernesses, this story is a poignant reminder that sometimes, the only way to find each other is to first lose ourselves.
Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver, Richard Powers, and readers who find truth and healing in the untamed places.
