They say first love lasts forever.

Intelligent, beautiful, and self-assured, Emma Dickinson has bright dreams for her future-for she's determined to follow in her father's footsteps and become a doctor. When she meets Patrick McCarthy, she immediately falls for the charming high school quarterback, who's also a local celebrity in their small town of Bemidji, Minnesota. They embark on a whirlwind romance, and Emma believes this will be a bond that can never be severed. That is until December 7, 1941, when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor...

It's 1968, and Emma has been separated from the love of her life for fifteen years now. Though she still harbors a deep resentment toward Patrick, she's never gotten around to divorcing him for one reason or another. Deep down, however, she knows the real reason is that she can't give up hope that the loyal, romantic, and sweet man she married will return to being the person he once was-before life's disappointments and a tragic injury irrevocably changed him. But when Emma receives a call from her daughter, informing her that Patrick's been shot, along with his famous senator cousin Eugene McCarthy, she travels to the hospital in Atlanta-and down memory lane, reliving the heady days of their blossoming relationship and when their marriage spiraled out of control.

A lyrical, moving, and unforgettable novel, Tholocco's Wake reminds us of the power of first love and how it can shape us-for better or worse.