Grief, Love and Brand New Beginnings
A review of 'Where the Wildflowers Grow' by Terah Shelton Harris. The post Grief, Love and Brand New Beginnings appeared first on Deep South Magazine.
Black News 
A review of Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris.
by Justin Wiggins
Terah Shelton Harris’s Where the Wildflowers Grow details a heartbreaking, yet resilient, journey of grief and the determination to not only overcome it, but to live with it. Delving straight into the action, the book begins with the aftermath of the bus crash that changes Leigh’s life forever. Showcasing her off-the-grid upbringing, the story follows Leigh as she becomes a forgotten fugitive, using nature as her crutch to survival. Stumbling upon the rural town of Camden, Leigh’s plan to stay away from civilization as much as possible gradually fades away as she meets a range of characters who can’t help but bring her guard down. Through her escape, Leigh learns that survival is only so sustainable and that living is the true answer to life.
The novel accompanies Leigh as she meets people whose sincere kindness allows her to forge the new path that she so desperately seeks. Walt, the first person who takes a chance on her; Luke, the young knucklehead that she immediately becomes protective of; Tibb, the unexpected yoga instructor; and Jackson, the stranger her heart knew all along, each take Leigh under their wings and presents different understandings of what it means to be healed. These four become Leigh’s found family, a renewed version of the origins she left behind. This isn’t the only mirror that has a positive spin, as Leigh’s isolated early life is traded in for the peaceful fields of the flower farm that teaches her that even outcasts have a place where they belong.
Harris uses Leigh’s fear of being found to represent her unhandled grief. These two extremes work well together as she not only resolves these issues at the same time, but also uses the same tools to do so. The majority of these tools are given to her by one person: Jackson. Halfway through the novel, the plot shifts from Leigh’s persistence to stay under the radar to her love story with the owner of the flower farm.
Jackson gives her a soft place to land, along with the responsibilities of confronting her past. His presence teaches Leigh to forgive herself and, in turn, come to peace with things she can not control.
Throughout the novel, Harris paints a beautiful picture of perseverance, one that makes the reader forget that they are following the story of an escapee. One who, in order to live freely, has to confront all of her obstacles.
“Even now, as I look back, the signs were there. What other explanation is there for it? I’d made a choice when I walked away from the bus crash. I’d made a choice that I wanted to learn how to live. A choice to find a purpose. I did that. It was then that I understood: I had found a home. With him.” – pg. 356 of Where the Wildflowers Grow
The post Grief, Love and Brand New Beginnings appeared first on Deep South Magazine.
