This Place of Wonder by Barbara O'Neal

"Bookstores can solve any problem, at least for a little while."

As is my customary reading pattern, once I finish a psychological thriller or two, I head for a "lighter" contemporary fiction read. Sometimes that is successful and sometimes "lighter" isn't so light. This Barbara O'Neal was one such read for me.

In the wake of a personal tragedy, four women face the past, their futures and each other in this novel of broken ties and healing. For me, the place of wonder was largely metaphorical and the characters spent the entire novel working to find that "place" in each of their own lives.

"That's the thing about grief. It spirals up and up and up, revisiting us again and again, reaching out with electrified tentacles to sting us when we least expect it."

When famous chef Augustus Beauvais dies, he leaves behind a celebrated reputation as well as four women grappling with loss, anger, pain, and the question of how the world will turn out without him.

Meadow, the ex-wife with whom Augustus built an empire -- and a family -- still holds a place for him in her heart, even as she continues to struggle with his infidelities, which ended their twenty year marriage.

Maya, his estranged daughter, who's recently out of rehab but finally ready to reclaim her life, is struggling with her anger toward her now-deceased father.

Norah, his latest girlfriend, sidelined her own career for unexpected love which is now gone with Augustus.

Finally, there's Rory, Meadow's daughter, the voice of calm and reason in a chorus of discontent.

"We're all broken, says my therapist's voice. I somehow have always felt more broken than most, but maybe that's not actually true."

These four women are flung together by tragedy, grief, and secrets yet to be revealed. They must accept -- or turn away from -- the legacy of great intentions and bad decisions that Augustus left them.

When the circumstances around his death are called into question, their conflicted feelings become even more complicated. The question is how can they find their way to a place of wonder.

"Stay where your feet are."

My Verdict: This Place of Wonder is about a multi-generational group of women who share a tragedy in the past that has come crashing down in the present.

What links all four of these women, besides their obvious links to Augustus Beauvais, is that they all see – or at least saw – themselves as damaged. Or perhaps it’s that Beauvais saw them all that way and that’s how he drew them into his orbit – because he needed their damage to fix his own. I love this about the book. I can relate to this on so many levels.

As a recovering alcoholic, I especially identified with Maya and her journey toward meaningful sobriety. I appreciated the authenticity of her struggle and her journey.

"Here. Now. In this small space of nowness, I can breathe. I don't have to be anything to anyone."

The magic of this book is found in the journey that this strange and damaged family travels to stitch itself together, learning along the way that the hole in their center is something that has always been there. That, in some ways, it’s easier to deal with now that they know it will never be filled.

And it’s that part of the story that gives this its heart. That they are, each of them, the legacy of a flawed and fascinating man. And that they are all, together and separately, so much more than that. And they always have been, even if they haven’t always been able to see it. I give this book 4.5 stars.