Turning and Returning is a 27,000 word novella.
When her mother calls from the hospital, Esme drives home without thinking twice. Portland, her classes, her roommate, the small life she’s been building, can wait. Back in Port Weyt, the coastal Oregon town she thought she’d left behind, time folds in on itself.
Her mother’s illness is not new, but this time it feels heavier. Esme tries to take care of everything: her mother’s store, the house, her mother. But when she runs into Caleb, there is a quiet unraveling. Esme drifts between past and present, trying to make sense of what it means to come home.
Turning and Returning is a story about inheritance, the kind that’s carried in the body, passed down, and remembered. It’s about mothers and daughters and the tidal pull of the places we can’t leave.
I’m very grateful to Mary Novack who hand cut the letters, floated them in the Willamette, photographed them, and designed the cover.
This PLAYLIST attempts to capture the essence of Esme’s story.
Turning and Returning in Print