TO THE MOON AND BACK - Kathi Macias - One Free Book

Dear Readers, Kathi has written a number of novels over the years I’ve known her. I always look forward to reading them. They touch a place deep in my heart.

Welcome back, Kathi. Do you have a favorite genre to write? If so, what is it?

Though I’ve also written several nonfiction books, a couple of children’s books, and one historical fiction, my favorite is contemporary fiction, centered around some sort of current “hot-button” issue—i.e., human trafficking, homelessness, Alzheimer’s, etc.

If you didn’t live in the part of the country where you do, where would you live?

My husband and I have spent quite a bit of time in Hawaii and Florida, and certain parts of each state would work for me. However, I suppose I’d have to say the Pacific Northwest would be my first choice. Despite the fact that it rains incessantly, the greenery is lovely, and I never tire of driving through the woods, rolling hills, and farm country.

Sounds lovely. What foreign country would you like to visit and why?

Israel because, of course, it’s the land where both Judaism and Christianity began, and I consider them inseparable. I would also enjoy visiting Germany, as that’s where my father was from, and he told me so many stories about it over the years.

Describe what you think would be the most romantic vacation you could take.

Cruises are nice, but I’m not a fan of the constant eating, etc. I suppose it would be a trip to the Emerald Coast in Florida or the lovely Kona area on the Big Island of Hawaii. We would leave our cell phones behind, opt for no TV, and just enjoy our time together.

James and I have often dreamed of going to Hawaii. Where would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?

I suppose the Emerald Coast of Florida would be perfect. And, of course, it would require another visit there for research.

Yes it would. What is the main theme of the featured novel?

The main theme of To the Moon and Back is a woman in her late sixties, as well as her family, coming to terms with the fact that she has Alzheimer’s.

Tell us about the story.

Rachel and her husband have lived in the Pacific Northwest their entire married life. They raised their only child in the home they still live in, and Rachel has been plugged into her banking job and church life. But soon after a car accident, when her husband becomes a semi-invalid, she begins to get confused, even frightened because she has so much trouble remembering things. In the interim, her grown daughter finds herself going through an unwanted divorce. When she realizes her mother has Alzheimer’s and will only get worse, she moves back home to help care for her and also for her father, whose resentful attitude doesn’t help the situation at all. The three of them, with help from an understanding pastor, a support group, and others, wrestle with the acceptance of a heartbreaking disease, and find hope in the middle of the encroaching darkness. (A resource page and discussion questions round out the book, making it useful for individual or group study.) 

Please give us the first page of the book.

Prologue

The moon was a pale sliver that mid-October night in the small coastal town of Wildflower, Oregon. The diminutive but still attractive sixty-seven-year-old shivered as she stood in the shadows near the rose bushes that had stopped blooming weeks earlier. She clutched her sweater a little tighter across her middle. Was it always so chilly here in the evenings? For some reason, she couldn’t quite remember, but it didn’t really matter. Somewhere, in the nostalgic canyons of her mind, she recalled another moon—a harvest moon. And she remembered a voice promising that he would always love her “to the moon and back.”

She smiled, wondering if the man who spoke those words so very long ago ever thought of her now. Did he still love her “to the moon and back”? Had another love taken her place? Or had he already departed earth and stepped into eternity?

Her smile faded at the thought. She had no idea if the man, whom she considered her first and only true love, had ever made his peace with God. She was certain he hadn’t at the time he declared his love for her—didn’t even believe in God, or so he claimed. But she had been a Christian since her childhood, and she imagined that was the reason the two of them had eventually gone their separate ways. The thought saddened her, as it always did.

“Rachel!” The voice called her back from a precipice of darkness, one that seemed to loom closer and threaten her more often lately. She pushed the fear away and tried to focus on the present.

“Rachel!” The voice was more impatient this time. “Where are you? I need you to help me with something.”

She sighed, as thoughts of a harvest moon and a promise from another time faded from her consciousness. Pete needed her, as he always did. That comforted her somehow, though it also frightened her, as she sensed she was slipping away more often these days and could no longer be trusted to do what she must. That couldn’t be good—for her or for Pete.

“I’m coming,” she called, leaving the cool shadows of the backyard that had seen so many parties and get-togethers over the years. Would there ever be another celebration in this place? It seemed unlikely. But the thought scarcely registered as it skittered through Rachel’s mind.

Wow! How can readers find you on the Internet?

My website is www.kathimacias.com. I am also on Facebook (Kathi Macias and Kathi Macias, Author) and Twitter (@alandkathi). They can email me from my website. I would love to hear from them!

Thank you, Kathi, for sharing this new book with us.

Readers, here are links to the book.

To the Moon and Back - Paperback
To the Moon and Back - Kindle

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