HIGHER LOVE
By JOANNE KUKANZA EASLEY
Women’s Literary Fiction
Publisher: Red Boots Press
Pages: 380
Publication Date: May 12, 2025
SYNOPSIS
Higher Love - the new release from Joanne Kukanza Easley, the multi-award-winning author of Sweet Jane, Just One Look, and I’ll Be Seeing You.
In 1986 Austin, Texas, sixteen-year-old Stephanie steps into sixty-two-year-old Lauren’s life, her uncanny resemblance cracking open a buried past. Claiming to be the daughter of the child Lauren gave up for adoption forty-five years ago, Stephanie upends Lauren’s life—already complicated by her remarriage to Brett after thirty-three years apart. Stung by her adoptive grandmother’s deception, Stephanie stays, her past of tragedy and self-harm forging a fragile bond with Lauren and Brett. When Stephanie’s trust fund evaporates, crushing her college dreams, Lauren sacrifices all to give her a future—only to face a bittersweet twist that echoes the past and changes everything. This heart-wrenching family drama delves into the enduring impact of secrets, the power of unconditional love, and the strength found in facing our pasts.
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Joanne Kukanza Easley, a retired registered nurse with experience in both the cold, clinical operating room and the highly charged world of psychiatric hospitals, lives in the Texas Hill Country, where she writes fiction about complicated, twentieth-century women. Her multi-award-winning debut, Sweet Jane, was named the adult fiction winner at the Texas Author Project and shortlisted for the Sarton Award and Eric Hoffer Award, among others. Just One Look, Joanne’s second novel, was a May 2022 Pulpwood Queen Book Club Pick. I’ll Be Seeing You, her third novel, features characters from Sweet Jane. Look for her fourth novel, Higher Love, a sequel to her third book, in Spring 2025. Her prize-winning short stories and poetry have appeared in several anthologies.
REVIEW
The
Short Story: A tale about family, trust, and learning to love each other.
My
Review:
This
is the fourth book I’ve read by author Joanne Kukunza Easley, and I’ve enjoyed
them all. Higher Love is a continuation of the story of Lauren, one time model,
alcoholic, now a well-respected businesswoman who’s remarried her husband Brett
after a separation of 30+ years. She is happy, healthy and ready to swan into
her golden years until … an unknown granddaughter crashes her birthday party!
Sixteen-year-old
Stephanie has run away from her grandmother. At the reading of her grandfather’s
will, she found out that her own deceased mother had been adopted and that
Lauren was her mother and her biological grandmother. Stephanie’s arrival opens
old wounds and bring back painful memories from Lauren’s past. Stephanie must
deal with issues in her past and rebuild a new life in Texas while dealing with
drama of the teenage years and unexpected problems.
Together,
along with Brett, Lauren’s husband, they must forge a family bond, learn to
trust and to love each other.
Joanne’s
books are always well written with characters that leap from the pages. She
deals with real human issues such as alcoholism, divorce, unwanted pregnancies,
self-harm and more with a deft hand. You’ll cheer for her characters, get mad
at them when they make mistakes, ache for the pain and cheer them on as they
put their lives back together again.
Higher
love is set in Austin, Texas in the 1980s. It was fun to be immersed in that time
period again. BTW, books set in the 1980s are now considered to be ‘historical
fiction.’ Of course, as a Texan, I appreciate the Texas setting.
As
always, I really enjoyed Joanne’s book and I recommend it to readers who love
great family stories, strong women and emotional journeys.
To learn more about the book, look for #LSLLHigherLove on your preferred social media platform.
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