Draw Near to Me

In this highly-anticipated sequel to Swimming with Ghosts, the discovery of a desperately-hidden secret brings a family to the brink of collapse--the exact place where they may ultimately find true healing and forgiveness.

One day before a freak accident lands devoted wife and mother Kristy Weinstein in a coma, her husband, David, discovers a devastating secret she'd been keeping for months. While Kristy sleeps, the Weinstein family experiences both heartache and miracles they never could have imagined for themselves. A hospital chaplain with an unforgettable voice and magical powers visits Kristy, eliciting hidden memories and future visions she needs to recover from her destructive love addiction.

While Kristy's life hangs in the balance, broken-hearted David, a high-risk OB with a God complex, must grapple with his pride and demons in order make impossible decisions about his career, wife, and the new baby that has served as a joyful family distraction from the roiling tensions stemming from Kristy's betrayal. Kristy and David's college-aged daughter Mia, nicknamed "Scoop," clashes with her family as she tries to solve the mystery of the events leading up to her mother's coma, and Patrick, Kristy's half-brother, fights to hold on to his sobriety and his beloved fiancée while he nearly crumbles under the fear of losing his sister and the responsibility of showing up for Kristy's family.

Ultimately, Kristy's coma serves as the catalyst for each family member to find kinship in surprising places and to heal old wounds by drawing near those who have damaged them the most. This is a timely story about the emotional and spiritual work it takes to repair an impossible rupture in a marriage, a relationship, a family, and in turn the larger communities in which we live, hope, and love.

Michelle Brafman is the author of Washing the Dead, Bertrand Court: Stories, and Swimming with Ghosts, the companion novel to Draw Near to Me. Her work has appeared in Oprah Daily, O Quarterly, Slate, LitHub, Tablet, The Forward, and elsewhere. She teaches fiction writing in the Johns Hopkins University MA in Writing Program and spoken about her work and the creative process at more than 200 venues, including book stores, literary festivals, classrooms, synagogues, and myriad book groups. Learn more at michellebrafman.com.