I'm Here

It's the evening of Meg's husband's funeral. The grueling day has come to an end, and now Meg is alone in the bedroom she has shared with Ben for so many years. Annie and Willie are upstairs, though probably not at all settled. Their home is empty of people, but full of cookies, coffee cakes, and an exceptionally large ham. Meg has felt like a stranger in her own home all day, but now, with the the lights off and the doors locked, she can breathe a bit deeper. Here, in the master bedroom, she feels a tiny bit normal. Ben had always traveled so much, and Meg is accustomed to being in this room alone. How can she feel any relief, any normalcy at all? With the details of the last few days behind her, exhausted and battling her emotions, Meg takes off her heels, drops her funeral clothes on the closet floor, and finally lies down. After falling into a fitful sleep, interrupted by odd dreams and the light from the muted TV, she is startled awake a few hours later by the chime of an incoming text message. Grasping for her iPhone on nightstand, she struggles to read the screen through bleary eyes. She sees the time first. 2:16 am. And then two words. "i'm here." The text is from Ben. The story is propelled by one woman's journey to discover answers when she's not entirely sure she wants to know the truth. Meg's quest to understand this funeral-night text, and those that follow, forces her to face much deeper questions about love, loss, and the things we hold on to. Two families, best friends, college sweethearts and young love are tried and tested in "I'm Here," this debut novel that begs the question "what if?" and reminds us of the power of forgiveness and acceptance.