Lost and Found

Kirkus Reviews

Two families move forward from loss and grief on the shoreline of western Michigan in Chalker’s novel.

Five years out of college in the summer of 2023, Tara finds her life is at a crossroads. Her relationship with her live-in boyfriend ended six months ago, her job organizing fundraisers for a nonprofit is petering out, and her dear Aunt Becca recently passed away from cancer. Aunt Becca’s widower, Uncle Robb, is reeling from Aunt Becca’s death. Their home in Empire, Michigan, near Sleeping Bear Dunes, has always been Tara’s refuge from the “complex chaos” of her family, so she is happy to move in with Uncle Robb as they both grieve and she tries to figure out a fulfilling career. In another town near Empire, 13-year-old Maria, whose parents and sister have been deported because of their immigration status, lives with her grandmother, who has just had a stroke. Worried that she will be put into foster care, Maria runs away and hides in a farmhouse that is part of a Parks Service nature preserve near Empire. Tara’s dog Taffy discovers Maria’s hiding place. With her grandmother’s permission, Maria stays with Tara and Uncle Robb as her grandmother undergoes rehab nearby. Having Tara, Taffy, and Maria around helps renew Uncle Robb’s spirit. Reading Aunt Becca’s journals from 1971, a pivotal year she spent studying in France when she was 20, widens Tara’s perspective. Chalker explores multiple types of loss—ranging from relationships ending to families being torn apart by heartless immigration policies to death—with great empathy in this character-driven novel. The use of Becca’s journals from 1971 effectively illustrates how opportunities for women have changed over the intervening decades. Nature plays an important role as both a literal and emotional refuge, and the beauty of the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan is vividly evoked: “Gentle waves roll in from the deep navy blue of the water farther out to the shallow aqua water near the shore.”

A satisfying story of healing.