The Language of Light by Meg Waite Clayton
Click, flash, release – you’ve captured a moment in time.  Time is not something to be used carelessly.  It is something we will all run out of some day.  Nelly Grace has learned this hard lesson from people dear to her heart.

After suffering the loss of her husband, Nelly decides to make a fresh start and moves with her two young boys to her great-grandparent's farm in Baltimore horse country.  Here she is introduced to a much different way of life.  An intimate world centered around horse racing, fox hunting, charity balls and old money.  She is befriended by the matriarch of the community, Emma Crofton, who takes a very personal interest in her.

As Nelly’s friendship with Emma develops, Emma and her grown son Dac encourage her to continue with her lifelong passion of photography.  But as Nelly encounters camera block, she realizes she needs to work through tangled feelings related to her father and husband.  Childhood fears of not being good enough to please her famous photojournalist father and adult fears of having to choose between a demanding career and being a good parent.  As Nelly sorts through these issues, she begins to truly consider realizing her dream of becoming a photojournalist and making her mark on the world. 

When Nelly begins to settle nicely into her new life, her father decides to come for a Christmas visit.  Excited at the opportunity to introduce him to everyone, Nelly is surprised to realize that he still has boyhood ties to the community.  As her father’s visit is extended and Nelly learns more about the new people in her life, she begins to uncover a trail of deceit and secrets which throws her life in turmoil once again.

The Language of Light is a very enjoyable read with lots of surprises and twists.  It is even a bit reminiscent of a Peyton Place in a more sophisticated setting.

About the author:  Meg Waite Clayton lived for several years on a horse farm in northern Maryland .  She now lives in California with her husband and two young sons.  She is a University of Michigan Law School graduate, and her stories have appeared in The Virginia Quarterly Review, The Literary Review, and elsewhere.  The Language of Light, a finalist for the 2002 Bellwether Prize, is her first novel.

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