These Briars Are In My Heart

In the free-wheeling Manhattan of 1969, in the shadow of Vietnam, six appealing characters make their way, in love, in work, sometimes in protest. A grieving widow and her daughter are pursued by attractive, not-quite-appropriate men. A lovelorn fi lmmaker secretly woos his best friend’s girl. A gay student, about to be drafted, has nightmares about death in combat. A feisty journalist practices un-safe sex and pays a steep price. An anti-War poet risks everything on an ill-fated mission to Hanoi. The novel rests on lively female elements--romance and friendship, clothes, food, sex, (sewing!)– but contains sympathetic male voices and some gritty action as well: a plane crash and jungle rescue, a sit-in turned bloody melee; plus darker threads of sexual obsession and peril. With compassion, humor, and lyrical beauty, the author tells a moving story of trust and redemption, courage in the face of devastating loss, the healing power of companionship and love.