Four generations of a family return to cherished places in nature from their youth and uncover buried secrets about themselves. From the coast of North Carolina to New York, from Savannah, Georgia to Switzerland, the special places include a meadow, a pine grove, a river, and mountain valley. Their journeys begin after a Christmas dinner and end a year later when they gather again to share their stories and start to heal as a family. They finally face a pivotal event-the death of a sibling and son. The most valuable lesson they learn is that nature can not only be a source of beauty and solace but of personal transformation and expanding compassion for all life.

"Kay Tobler Liss's Coming Home is a tender, compassionately rendered novel about place, family, and the triumph of return. About memory. About cherishing, and at a time when we need it most." - Jack Driscoll, author of Twenty Stories, and other volumes of short stories, novels, and poetry; recipient of a PEN/Nelson Algren Short Fiction Award and a 1998 Editor's Book Award

"A tender and lyrical portrayal of a family propelled into the future by the special places of their past. Liss's intimate connection to nature and its healing power is on full display. Heartfelt and hopeful." -Laurel Dodge, author of The Buoyant Letters of Mimsy Bell