In this intimate rendering of a relationship, we learn how deceptive surface impressions can be.

Leon Hale, author of Bonney’s Place, was sixty years old, a “country boy” who wrote about rural Texans with humor and sensitivity in his popular column for The Houston Post and, later the Houston Chronicle. Babette Fraser at thirty-six was a child of privilege, a city girl educated abroad, struggling in her career while raising a young son. No one thought it could work.

Even Hale himself held serious doubts. But it did endure. The interior congruencies they discovered through a long and turbulent courtship knit them tightly together for the rest of his life.

And when he died during the Pandemic isolation period, searing levels of grief and doubt threatened Babette’s understanding of the partnership and marriage that had sustained her for forty years. Had he really been the person she thought he was? Had he kept secrets that would forever change her view of him?

In candid, evocative prose, she explores the distorted perceptions that often follow the death of a cherished spouse, and the loving resolution that allows life to go on.

JENNIE READS REVIEW

This Familiar Heart intricately fused together the threads of a love story, a memoir, and a journey through the heart of Texas and beyond. The narrative unfolds in reverse, beginning with the poignant moments at the end of life, where the reader is given a glimpse of a life fully lived. Then, the author traces back to the dawn of a love affair and gradually presents its evolution.

Through letters, reflections, and a third-person narrative lens, the reader tenderly watches as the author unveils the layers of their relationship, saturated with love, affection, and the bittersweet tinge of reminiscence. Each chapter paints vivid vignettes for a nostalgic journey through time and place.

The final part, though undeniably challenging, adds depth and poignancy. For this reader, the familiar realities of hospice care and the echoes of a pandemic offered a raw and unflinching portrayal of human vulnerability and resilience that resonated.

This book is a kaleidoscope of emotions, each twist and turn revealing new facets of their journey. With a touch of rose-colored glasses, the author captures the essence of time gone by, inviting readers to cherish the beauty of love and life’s fleeting moments.

This Familiar Heart is not just a book but a heartfelt ode to love, loss, and the enduring power of memories.