A Korean War widow’s difficult mother dies before revealing the identity of her daughter’s father and his cultural heritage.
As Dee sorts through what little her mother left, she unearths puzzling clues that raise more questions: Why did Leora send money every month to the Basque Relief Agency? Why is her own daughter so secretive about her soon-to-be published book? And what does an Anglican priest know that he isn’t telling? All this head-spinning breaks a long, dry period in Dee’s life. She might just as well lose her job and see where the counsel of her new spiritual advisor and the attentions of an enigmatic ex-coworker lead her.
The Sheep Walker’s Daughter pairs a colorful immigrant history of loss, survival, and tough choices with one woman’s search for spiritual identity and personal fulfillment.
Dee’s journey will take her through the Northern and Central California valleys of the 1950s and reach across the world to the obscure Basque region of Spain. She will begin to discover who she is and why family history matters.
An Interesting, Absorbing Read! 
This is the tale of one woman finally discovering her ancestry.
When Leora dies, her daughter Dee begins to sort through her effects, discovering more than she bargained for. Dee has never know anything about her father and now she has more questions than answers. Her own daughter is about to become a published author, but why is she hiding the details of her novel? Why had her mother been sending money to the Basque Relief Agency every month, and what is the Anglican Priest not telling? All this alongside her boss being displeased about her need for time off following a parental death and a co-worker becoming friendly on a personal level, Dee wonders how long she can keep all these plates spinning.
I’ve been a long time in getting to read this book. It was one of the first I requested from NetGalley but somewhere along the way my copy was mislaid, but I’ve got here in the end! Full of surprises, this is an interesting read which kept me absorbed, keen to find out exactly what Dee’s investigations would reveal. It’s an easy read, and one which answered all the questions lurking both in Dee’s mind and my own – plus a bit more. A perfectly pleasant read, and worth four stars.
This is – as always – my honest, original and unbiased review.
Tags: women’s historical fiction
- Format: ebook, paperback, audiobook
- Size: 223 pages
- Publishers: Chalfont House Publishing / Torchflame Books
- Published: 03 December 2013 / 30 September 2017
- Links: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36315177
Author Bio
Sydney Avey writes about ordinary people who muster faith and courage to step over uncertainty and continue the journey. Her novels invite compassion for the stumbles of the past and offer hope for the future, if only a glimmer.
Sydney Avey is the author of The Sheep Walker’s Daughter and The Lyre and the Lambs. In her latest novel, The Trials of Nellie Belle, she tells the story of the great grandmother she never knew. Reputed to be the first female court reporter in the Pacific Northwest, Nellie traveled to small towns and large cities to record court proceedings. She left a legacy of short stories about life in the West during the progressive era, where justice was swift and common sense overruled.
Avey’s poetry, short stories and articles have appeared in Foliate Oak, Forge, American Athenaeum, Unstrung, Blue Guitar Magazine, Ruminate and MTL Magazine. She has a degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley and has studied at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival as well as many other conferences and seminars.
Sydney and her airplane enthusiast husband divide their time between Sierra Nevada foothills of Yosemite, California, and the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. She is a choral singer and enjoys travel, theatre, and spending time with family and friends.
Social Media
Website: https://sydneyavey.com/
Twitter: @SydneyAvey
Faceook: @YosemiteSyd
Grace J Reviewerlady 