Nature Lessons: A Novel by Lynette Brasfield
Mother-daughter relationships are complex.  A good relationship can provide you with solid ground to build your own life.  A bad one can leave you feeling insecure and wondering about your place in the world.  Good, bad or in-between, we all seem to love our mothers.  It's a force of nature.  Nature Lessons is the story of one woman's long journey toward accepting and understanding her eccentric and challenging mother.

Kate has an unusual background.  She spent her childhood in South Africa during the tumultuous time of apartheid.  Life was fairly normal in Kate's white family world until her father died on her 11th birthday.  Her mother, convinced his death was part of a government conspiracy, packed them up and began their life on the run.  But on the run from what was never quite clear to Kate.  She is bewildered as she watches her mother's paranoia grow.  Just when Kate is convinced her mother is completely nuts, something will happen to make her reconsider.  Kate, herself, will notice suspicious activity.  But who exactly is looking for them and why?  Meanwhile, Kate is trying to fit in at school and suffering through awkward adolescence as her mother spies on, interrogates and embarrasses her.

Kate grew up and finally escaped her mother's paranoid life.  As a young woman, she moved to the United States with her fiancé.  Her first of several fiancés.  Kate's childhood scarred her with trust and intimacy issues.  Try as she might, she can't break a string of unsuccessful relationships.  Kate is always ready to bail out before they can bail on her.

Now 40 and recovering from her latest break-up with fiancé number 3, Kate receives a frantic letter from her mother asking to be rescued.  Not able to reach her mother, Kate reluctantly sets off on a journey back to her homeland.  She is amazed at what has transpired in her 20 year absence.  As she searches for clues to her mother's whereabouts, pieces of her lifelong puzzle begin to fall in place.  Mysteries unravel and dark secrets are exposed.  Kate is stunned to learn about events in her parents' past that were hidden from her during her youth.  With this new knowledge and understanding, will Kate be able to make peace with her mother and move on with her own life?  Or will it result in further alienation?

Nature Lessons is intriguing.  The backdrop of South Africa during apartheid and a single mother suffering from mental illness result in an unusual story.  The author provides the right dash of humor and personal touch to turn an otherwise dark tale into an enjoyable read.

About the Author: Lynette Brasfield was born in Durban, South Africa, and moved to the United States in 1985.  She has worked as a journalist, toy salesperson, assistant librarian, high school teacher, and public relations executive.  She now lives in Southern California with her husband and two sons.
buy now!Nature Lessons: A Novel by Lynette Brasfield