Believe in the Wind, A Novel

Cedar, juniper, and pinon trees encircle Madrid, New Mexico, a small mining community nestled in the Ortiz mountains. This picturesque beauty belies the danger of the work Fernando, a coal miner, does to feed and clothe his family. For Fernando and his wife, Aurelia, life is hard and although they are good and strong parents, who have an abiding spiritual faith, their values and beliefs do not always prevail with their children. A miner like his father, the eldest son, also a handsome baseball player, is not a faithful boyfriend nor always a good brother. The oldest daughter, an extraordinary beauty and graceful athlete, captivates the town, but she is not always dutiful and respectful. Nea, the youngest of the three, works hard for an education and is a good sister, but becomes the prodigal daughter. When her plans to leave Madrid collapse, Nea escapes with a young lawyer who offers her a job to work on his political campaign. She betrays her family to pursue this man, the excitement, the opportunities of politics and the city. This epic novel, the story of a family across several decades from the Depression to the mid-1960s, weaves a narrative of love, loss, and transcendence, gripping the heart and expanding it to reach across the geographies of the mind, place, and gender.