From the author of the New York Times #1 bestseller, THE RAPTURE OF CANAAN, and steeped in the rich tradition of Southern writers like Carson McCullers and Sue Monk Kidd, THE TENDER GRAVE is a gripping story of two estranged sisters who find their unlikely way toward forgiveness—and each other—through a gruesome and disturbing set of circumstances.
At age 17, Dori participates in a hate crime against a gay boy from her school and runs away to escape prosecution—and her own harrowing childhood. In her pocket, she carries the address of an older, half-sister she’s never met. She has no idea that her sister, Teresa, is married to another woman, or that Teresa and Jen have tried and failed repeatedly to start their own family though unsuccessful insemination attempts. When Dori and Teresa finally meet, they’re forced to confront that, while they don’t like or understand one another, they are inextricably bound in ways that transcend their differences. Together, the sisters discover that shifting currents of family and connection can sometimes run deeper than the prevailing tides of abandonment and estrangement.
In THE TENDER GRAVE, Sheri Reynolds weaves complex themes of parenting, forgiveness, guilt, and accountability into a lyrical and lushly-woven tapestry that chronicles our enduring search for home, heart, and healing.
Praise for Sheri Reynolds
"The newest and most exciting voice to emerge in contemporary Southern fiction."
- San Francisco Bay Guardian
"An original, lyrically written tale . . . a beautifully realized character. . . Reynolds aims high and just about hits the bull's eye, displaying a self-assurance and a taste for moral and social issues that makes her debut a most welcome one."
- Publisher's Weekly
"Sheri Reynolds's haunting voice will stay with you long after you have finished her scary and brilliant first novel. An auspicious debut for a very talented writer."
- Lee Smith, author of Fair and Tender Ladies
"Reynolds is a wonderful storyteller and master of pastoral imagery."
- New York Times Book Review
Orabelle's Wheelbarrow
Winner of the Women Playwrights' Initiative playwriting competition for 2005.
View the published play here
Orabelle's Wheelbarrow is play about promises - the ones we break, the ones we keep, and the ones that transform into new promises, whether we want them to or not.
When the play opens, Leona's mother has just died, and she's left taking care of her dependent and emotionally unstable aunt and uncle. She wants to make a new life for herself, but feels weighed down by family obligations. Then her old friend Rubie shows up with her elderly grandmother, Miss Orabelle, in tow. Orabelle pushes a wheelbarrow everywhere she goes, and she claims that her wheelbarrow is full of broken promises. As Leona explores her own responsibilities to her aunt and uncle, Orabelle and her promises help Leona understand the nature of promises. Orabelle guides Leona as she decides which of her promises she can keep and which she will have to let go. Throughout the play, promises leap out of Orabelle's wheelbarrow - or sometimes come crashing into it - for monologues that illustrate or complicate key points.
About Sheri
Sheri Reynolds is the author of the novels Bitterroot Landing, The Rapture of Canaan (an Oprah book club selection and New York Times bestseller), A Gracious Plenty, Firefly Cloak, The Sweet In-Between, The Homespun Wisdom of Myrtle T. Cribb, The Tender Grave and the play, Orabelle's Wheelbarrow.
Sheri grew up in a large, extended family in rural South Carolina. She graduated from Conway High School in 1985, Davidson College in 1989, and Virginia Commonwealth University in 1992. She teaches creative writing and literature at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC, where she serves as John C. Cobb Endowed Chair of Humanities. She has also taught at Virginia Commonwealth University, The College of William and Mary, Davidson College, and Old Dominion University.
Sheri divides her time between Spartanburg, SC, and Cape Charles, VA, on Virginia's eastern shore.