For fans of Catherine Ryan Hyde and Sue Monk Kidd, a debut literary fiction novel about an unlikely friendship between a damaged girl and a mysterious old woman and the quest for love and healing through the telling of fairy tales.

Early one summer morning, nine- year-old Sherry Gallagher flees in panic into the woods behind her house to hide from her abusive father. Following the death of their mother, her older brothers and sisters have all left home, leaving Sherry to deal with her father alone.

In the woods, Sherry encounters an enigmatic old woman who has just moved into a previously abandoned forest cottage. They form an unlikely friendship and agree to exchange fairy tales with one another—stories that are by turns enchanting and heartbreaking. As they grow closer, the old woman introduces the shy and damaged girl to wonder and beauty. But in Sherry’s world, hope is a dangerous thing that threatens to unearth the secret she has so carefully buried: her darkest trauma.

A novel that explores the intersection of myth, love, imagination, and psychological resilience, this compelling narrative is painful, surprising, and ultimately profoundly hopeful.