A Ghost Story for the Living
After losing her husband Wyatt to a sudden accident, interior designer SJ Monroe believes she is alone with her crushing grief. But nothing is further from the truth. Wyatt, a ghost trapped in a liminal state, must watch in silence, unable to help, as the woman he loves rattles around their unfinished farmhouse in Sleepy Hollow, New York. He mourns all that remained unresolved in their marriage - the children they never had, the depression that stalked him, and the fractures in their relationship.
Over the following months, SJ survives, aided by the company of Wyatt's dog, Hawk, and nightly drives to Wendy's for her habitual fry and chocolate shake. She marshals the courage to take a restoration job for the historic Osprey House in her hometown of Beaufort, South Carolina. A vigilant Wyatt follows as she reconnects with family and finds new friends. Signs from the natural world urge her forward. But not everyone wishes her well. While trouble looms, an ever-watchful Wyatt resolves to find a way to speak to SJ from beyond the grave - to tell her to abandon the grief and guilt consuming her, and to claim her happiness. Will she hear him?
Praise for Every Room Remembers
"Badstubner has created the most beautiful space: a novel we can sink into, that we don't want to leave. This luminous debut is masterfully built and beautifully detailed, echoing with the fullness of life-the dark moments as well as the glorious light."
-Stacey Swann, author of Olympus, Texas
"In prose as sure and subtle as a steadying hand on one's shoulder, Badstubner's characters find a way to walk into their unimagined futures, where love and memory, the author reminds us, have the power to outlast us all."
-Kate Moses, author of Wintering: A Novel of Sylvia Plath and Cakewalk: A Memoir