As Wide as the Sky
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4.4 • 5 Ratings
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
“In the vein of Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes, As Wide as the Sky explores the human component of tragedy.” —Mandy Mikulencak, author of Forgiveness Road
Five a.m.: Amanda Mallorie wakes to the knowledge that her son Robbie is gone. And a new chapter of her own life must begin. She has spent four years as her son’s only support, desperately trying to understand the actions that landed him on death row and to change his fate. Now Amanda faces an even more difficult task—finding a way, and a reason, to move forward with her own life.
Before the tragedy that unfolded in a South Dakota mall, Robbie was just like other people’s sons or daughters. Sometimes troubled, but sweet and full of goodness too. That’s the little boy Amanda remembers as she packs up his childhood treasures and progress reports, and discovers a class ring she’s never seen before. Who does it belong to and why did Robbie have it in his possession? So begins a journey that will remind her not only of who Robbie used to be, but of a time when she wasn’t afraid—to talk to strangers, to help those in need, to reach out. Robbie’s choices can never be unmade, but there may still be time for forgiveness and trust to grow again. For a future as wide as the sky.
“As Wide as the Sky asks what happens next, and dares to suggest that humans aren’t monsters, and that there’s a grace in allowing for the possibility of redemption.” —Salt Lake City Weekly
“A phenomenal read.” —Davis Bunn, internationally bestselling author
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pack (a pseudonym for Josi S. Kilpack, author of A Heart Revealed) follows the aftereffects of a mass shooting in this tender novel. Amanda Mallorie's son, Robert, has just been executed. Four years ago, Robert, then 22, walked into a mall and shot nine people to death. But before that, he was simply Amanda's Robbie. Amanda is torn between the grief of her loss and the fear that he deserved his sentence: there is no doubt about Robbie's guilt, but there is also no doubt about her love for him. In an attempt to move forward with her life, Amanda relocates to Cincinnati from South Dakota to be closer to her daughter, Melissa, whom she had been neglecting in favor of trying to be there for her son in his last days. As she is packing up Robbie's old things, she finds a ring she's never seen before. Hoping for closure, she embarks on a journey to find the person whom the ring belonged to, hoping for one more good memory of Robbie and one person who knows him as someone other than the killer Robert Mallorie. Her journey through grief and towards healing is affecting, and this sentimental and hopeful story works as a moving reminder to look for the good in everyone.
