Tessa's Heart

<p><strong>Haunted by secrets and spirits a Texas girl dances through dysfunction to find her voice.</strong></p><p></p><p>In the wildflower-strewn town of 1950s Yoakum Texas nine-year-old Tessa Carter is caught between two forces: her beauty-obsessed mother who longs for escape and her fiercely religious grandmother who clutches family shame like pearls. What neither woman understands is that Tessa sees more than they know-ancestral ghosts memories stitched into silver trays and a father-shaped absence that cracks her spirit wide open.</p><p></p><p>Tessa doesn't speak much-but she dances. Each wild movement is a rebellion against silence a language of longing and strength. As she is pulled deeper into a supernatural dialogue with her great-grandmother Eunice and eccentric great-aunt Gertie Tessa discovers stories long buried and women long ignored. She begins to question not only her place in this matriarchal maze but whether she can forge a future unbound by inherited shame.</p><p>A Southern Gothic coming-of-age tale woven with humor heartbreak and fierce tenderness <em>Tessa's Heart</em> explores what happens when the past refuses to stay buried-and a girl refuses to stay quiet. With prose both lyrical and unflinching Jackie Lewis brings readers a story of defiant magic ancestral voices and the unshakable resilience of one unforgettable girl.</p><p></p><p>For readers of <em>The Secret Life of Bees</em> and <em>The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Tessa's Heart</em> is a lush and lyrical Southern tale of ghosts grit and girlhood. Jackie Lewis delivers a novel that lingers-long after the dancing stops.</p><p></p><p><strong>An engaging story that speaks volumes...- Winner in the WOMEN'S ISSUES category of the 2024 IndieReader Discovery Awards</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Funny poignant sad and exhilarating... - An Honorable Mention from the Eric Hoffer Award.</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>A compelling unpredictable and poignant story ... - Kirkus Reviews</strong></p>