Rivers

In a small Mississippi town, Harriet Cleve Dusfresnes grows up in the shadow of her brother, who—when she was only a baby—was found hanging dead from a black-tupelo tree in their yard. His killer was never identified, nor has his family, in the years since, recovered from the tragedy. For Harriet, who has grown up largely unsupervised, in a world of her own imagination, her brother is a link to a glorious past she has only heard stories about or glimpsed in photograph albums.

Honey Newberry, a successful Atlanta writer, has been hit by a double whammy: Writer's block and the middle-age crazies. She heads for the Gulf beaches of Florida, determined to spend the summer getting her groove back. There she finds unexpected inspiration from a joyful neighbor--the mysterious and flamboyant Beatrice--whose zest for life reminds Honey of another wise woman--Creola Moon, the wise and amazing nanny who encouraged Honey's childhood dreams.