Deborah Reed

DEBORAH REED is the author of seven novels, most recently Pale Morning Light with Violet Swan, and The Days When Birds Come Back. She has taught novel writing at the Hellenic American University in Athens, Greece, the UCLA extension program in Los Angeles, and was previously the co-director of the Black Forest Writing Seminars at Albert-Ludwig University in Freiburg, Germany. Until June of 2022, she was the owner of Cloud & Leaf Bookstore in Manzanita, Oregon. She now lives and writes in Berlin. Learn more at www.deborahreedwriter.com.

Books

Mobile Creatures

After the sudden death of her husband, a writer finds new life immigrating to Berlin, creating community, and reconciling with her difficult past—just as it catches up with her again

When Faith’s husband Ronan dies unexpectedly, she flees the sanctity of her Oregon coastal town for the chaotic streets of Berlin. Two years later, she remains restless, roaming the streets with her dog, Sally. Faith has become an immigrant. A widow. A writer who does not write. There is only one person who can come close to understanding: her estranged and pregnant younger sister, Grace.

As Faith searches for connection and meaning, she is forced to confront the dark years of her childhood. Having grown up with an abusive single mother, Faith was only able to escape by running away to college, a move which ultimately landed Grace in foster care. Now, Faith must come to terms with her feelings of guilt as well as other traumatic events in her life, some that she hid from Ronan and some even from herself.

When a snowstorm leads to a fall that fractures her hip, Faith’s is forced to recognize the people around her offering support, including Grace who arrives from the U.S. Faith must face months of rehabilitation surrounded by her beloved dog, her sister, her elderly neighbor, and new Ukrainian and Syrian refugee friends. In her time of vulnerability, will Faith allow room for Grace to forgive her, and ultimately forgive herself?