Pregnant, abandoned by her lover, and cut off from her family, free-spirited and independent Gracie is determined to keep her baby and to raise him on her own.

Protecting Elijah Blue from the nuns eager to adopt him out to a "better" home is only Gracie's first battle...

It takes a whole community of colourful neighbours and friends—and the dream-wisdom of spirits that protect her—for Gracie to navigate the cruel and impoverishing systems that judge and harass her as a single mom on PEI.

She gets through with pride, grit, and humour--but nothing can protect her from her growing son's desire to know his father's identity.

Stella Shepard of Prince Edward Island developed a passion for reading and writing in childhood that followed her throughout life. She is the author of Ashes of My Dreams (Acorn Press, 2016) and her stories have been published in four of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, Atlantic newspapers, and magazines. Stella is a journalist, a life-long learner, and a photographer. She is a mother and a grandmother who lives on an organic farm with her husband, Reg Phelan.

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