Description
Book SynopsisToby Jenkins, the oldest surviving member of her family, has opened a summer residence program in the Nebraska Sandhills for the wounded and broken, misfits and dreamers. Besides her guests—a minister on sabbatical and a woman recovering from cancer treatment—Toby is joined by Anita and Luís, her hired help; Anita’s brother Gabe; and someone Toby least expected, her nearly estranged daughter, Nola Jean. Mother-daughter tensions, age-old prejudices, and generational divides challenge the members of this disparate community as they bump up against each other. Parallel conflicts occur against the backdrop of a changing rural landscape where history clashes with evolving mores.
In this thoughtful and moving novel Pamela Carter Joern probes the complications of family relationships, identity, belonging, and the impact of long-held secrets.
Trade Review“This is a kindhearted, humorous, and graceful novel full of secrets, regrets, and redemptions. I immediately related to the drama of this beautifully drawn book about an eclectic cast of characters during a summer on the prairie and Sandhills of western Nebraska. Pamela Carter Joern writes about the Great Plains with the authority of a biologist and the passion of a poet.”—Nickolas Butler, author of
Shotgun Lovesongs and
Godspeed“
Toby’s Last Resort is both lyrical and riveting. The writing is beautiful, the plot intricate, and the characters fully developed. The setting in the Nebraska Sandhills is inspired. Joern demonstrates with every page how the lives of ordinary people, when closely examined, are always extraordinarily complex, heartbreaking, and important. I loved every aspect of this fine novel and recommend it to all.”—Mary Pipher, author of
Seeking Peace and
Women Rowing North“Pamela Carter Joern understands the flinty women of western Nebraska like few other writers.
Toby’s Last Resort is a beautiful, funny, and wrenching story that explores the love of land accompanied by a desire for independence and privacy. I loved this novel.”—Maureen Millea Smith, author of
When Charlotte Comes Home and
The Enigma of Iris Murphy
