After a child­hood of rebel­lion, Jacob Fish­er has grown to find strength and com­fort in his Ortho­dox Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ty in Brook­lyn — espe­cial­ly in the home he’s made with his wife and their young chil­dren. In one stun­ning moment, the life he knows ends. Jacob’s world crush­es him, and he flees in anguish.

Jacob finds him­self in a pre­dom­i­nant­ly African Amer­i­can town in rur­al Alaba­ma, where he meets Rosie, the sin­gle moth­er of a young son. Their friend­ship, along with the rekin­dling of his love of music, pre­cip­i­tates events that will change both their lives.

J. J. Gesher’s debut nov­el tells an inspir­ing sto­ry of find­ing courage after tragedy — and of the restora­tive pow­er of human connection.