The Butterfly's Daughter (Hardcover)
Description
Four very different women embark on a transformational journey that follows the migrating monarchs across the United States to Mexico. The story begins when Luz Avila's grandmother, the local butterfly lady, purchases an old, orange VW bug for a road trip home to Mexico. When she unexpectedly dies, Luz is inspired to take her grandmother's ashes home. In the manner of the Aztec myth of the goddess who brings light to the world, Luz attracts a collection of lost women, each seeking change in their lives. The Mexican people believe the monarchs are the spirits of the recently departed and Luz taps into ancient rituals and myths as she follows the spectacular, glittering river of orange monarchs in the sky to home.
About the Author
Mary Alice Monroe is the New York Times bestselling author of thirteen novels, including The Butterfly’s Daughter, The Beach House, Time is a River, and Last Light over Carolina.
She found her true calling in environmental fiction when she moved to coastal South Carolina. Already a successful author, she was captivated by the beauty and fragility of her new home. Her experiences living in the midst of a habitat that was quickly changing gave her a strong and important focus for her books. Her latest novel, The Butterfly’s Daughter (May 2011), is set against the phenomenal migration of the endangered monarch butterfly. She has also explored the problems of endangered sea turtles (The Beach House, Swimming Lessons, and her first children’s book, Turtle Summer), raptors (Skyward), the indigenous grass and endangered coastal ecosystem of South Carolina (Sweetgrass), the rivers and mountains of North Carolina (Time is a River), and the disappearing world of the coastal shrimping industry (Last Light over Carolina).
Mary Alice is an active conservationist who is a board member of the South Carolina Aquarium and is a member of the Isle of Palms/Sullivan’s Island Turtle Team. For more information, visit her website www.maryalicemonroe.com.
Praise for The Butterfly's Daughter…
"Monroe, known for her environmental fiction (The Beach House; Sweetgrass), skillfully incorporates lore about the monarch butterflies into a rich novel about generations and tradition. This book, filled with unusual female characters, is highly recommended for book clubs and readers of women's fiction."
- Library Journal
“In The Butterfly’s Daughter, Mary Alice Monroe gives us a novel that, like the monarch butterfly, has a plentitude of beauty and wonder. Luz Avila is a character we cheer on as she makes her journey from Wisconsin to Mexico and, equally, toward knowledge and forgiveness.”
—Ron Rash, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of Serena