The Road to After

Rebekah Lowell is an author-illustrator with a passion for the natural world. As a survivor of domestic abuse she has found the outdoors to be a healing grounds and when not in her studio, you can find her outside birding, gardening, raising butterflies—often with her daughters, who she homeschools. She has a BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Children’s Literature and Illustration from Hollins University. Her artwork has been featured on the Maine Duck Stamp four times and she is also an art educator. She lives with her family in her hometown of Biddeford, Maine.

This poignant debut novel in verse is a portrait of healing, as a young girl rediscovers life and the soothing power of nature after being freed from her abusive father.For most of her life, Lacey has been a prisoner without even realizing it. Her dad rarely let her, her little sister, or her mama out of his sight. But their situation changes suddenly and dramatically the day her grandparents arrive to help them leave. It's the beginning of a different kind of life for Lacey, and at first she has a hard time letting go of her dad's rules. Gradually though, his hold on her lessens, and her days become filled with choices she's never had before. Now Lacey can take pleasure in sketching the world as she sees it in her nature journal. And as she spends more time outside making things grow and creating good memories with family and friends, she feels her world opening up and blossoming into something new and exciting.Story Locale: Maine and Virginia

BASED ON THE AUTHOR'S OWN LIFE: While this is fiction, it's inspired by the author's experiences escaping a controlling husband with her daughters.STIRRING DEBUT NOVEL-IN-VERSE: Lacey's narration lets readers into the mind of a kid struggling to move past a lifetime of pain and allow herself to be happy: "Even though I / keep trying new things that we couldn't do / before, / sometimes, it's the new things / that remind me of / before, / because of why / they're new."PACKS AN EMOTIONAL WALLOP, but the details of life with Lacey's dad are suitable for a middle-grade audience.READERS WILL ROOT FOR LACEY AND FAMILY: Although Lacey's situation is extreme, readers will connect with the feeling of being freed from a controlling presence.INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR, who is an artist, like Lacey and her mom in the book.