From the bestselling author of Wish Me Home comes a heart-racing tale of resilience and hope.
When Sadie Harlan visits her daughter, Lauren, at her summer internship in Yosemite National Park, it seems like the perfect way to forget about her empty nest and failing marriage back home. But when the two women get lost on what’s meant to be a short hike, they suddenly find themselves fighting for … themselves fighting for their lives.
As they search for food, water, and civilization, they battle injury, exhaustion, and natural predators. Sadie, however, is assaulted by more than just the unforgiving elements. She lost her first child years earlier in a tragic accident, and in her sorrow, she’s pushed everyone away—including her husband. Now, Sadie must face her past through a journey of love, loss, and learning to forgive herself if she and Lauren are to stand a chance at getting out of Yosemite alive. Will a mother’s courage be enough to save them both?
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Dancing with the Sun is an endearing, emotional tale. It’s filled with the perfect mix of poignant family heartaches, unshakable mother-daughter love, and a dose of adventure in a dramatic, vivid setting that will sweep you away until the very last page.
A baring-of-the-soul emotional story that leaves you with a heart full of love and hope.
In Dancing With the Sun, a mother and daughter are forced to lean on each other for survival in the wilderness while learning to let go of years of grief and guilt. Readers will relate to Kay Bratt’s depiction of a mother’s love and her courage in protecting her daughter. Ultimately, though, this novel is a page-turner that will pull on your heartstrings and affirm your faith in humanity.
In Dancing With the Sun, Kay Bratt skillfully weaves together a tapestry that is rich in both texture and color. The story is heartbreaking and heart warming as it delves into the most painful experience a person can have (but I won’t reveal it). It is a story of the unintended divide that can occur between parent and child or husband and wife when people go their separate ways in response to tragedy. But it also reveals the path to peace and reunification. Highly recommended.
We’ve all heard the cliché, I just couldn’t put the book down.” Really? No, Really. I just couldn’t put Dancing with the Sun down. Here’s the story.
I was reading Dancing with the Sun last night. I had just started Chapter 18 (the final chapter before the Epilogue) before going to sleep. My Wife came in to go to bed so I put the book away for the night. It wasn’t easy, but I put the book down. Then my oldest Daughter came in and started talking to Mom. I picked the book up and started reading again.
I only read two pages (BIG MISTAKE) and realized I wasn’t going to put the book down again until I read it all. I COULDN’T PUT THE BOOK DOWN. I just had to know the ending. The suspense was too great and I would never be able to sleep. I told my Wife and Daughter I was going into the Family Room to finish the book. I just wished I had thought to bring some tissues. An hour or so later the novel was finished. I was fulfilled. Kay Bratt had done it again!!
Well done. Beautiful. Touching. Magnificent. A story of hope. Wow! Wow!!! Dancing with the Sun shows that Kay Bratt gives her all to her readers. Thank you Kay for another great read!!
Thank you NetGalley and Kay Bratt for an advanced copy of this wonderful book. I loved it so much that I pre-ordered it today from Amazon.
I was able to be an early reader for this wonderful book. The book is every bit as beautiful as the cover. Kay writes from the heart and you can just feel the love she has for her own daughter while telling this story of a mother-daughter lost in Yosemite for several days. What a mother will do to protect her child. This book will tug on your heart strings through grief, rebuilding and survival. It will stick with you for a long time. I will always smile and think of Dancing With The Sun when I see my favorite flower.
Excellent story about rebuilding relationships
Dancing with the Sun by Kay Bratt is powerful story of family relationships. A mother, who is dealing with empty-nest syndrome and her college-age daughter go on a short hike and end up lost in Yosemite National Park. Bratt does a great job of portraying the emotions and reactions of the women as they struggle to find their way. Dancing with the Sun is a story of forgiveness and second chances, a story of a family in desperate need of healing and restoration. I listened to a complimentary copy of the audiobook and Christine Williams did a great job narrating the book, which made for an interesting listening experience. I look forward to reading more from this author.
This was a very heart-wrenching and heartfelt story. Dealing with the tragic loss of a child is a promise of never ending grief. Everyone grieves differently – there is no right or wrong way. It can tear a marriage apart. That is what is at the core of this book. It takes drifting off the known trail during a hike in Yosemite National Park with her daughter and the struggle to survive that follows, to help this mom release the sorrow she has been holding in and find the path back to a future with her husband.
The audio version was very intense and I have to admit I became very frustrated with the characters and some of their decisions so by the time they were safe I was more than ready to be done with the book. I liked how it was all brought together at the end, however, and I was left with a good feeling.
Dancing with the Sun by Kay Bratt was a great book about the difficulties of a mother-daughter relationship and handling grief. I related with Sadie in this book from her perspective as a parent of a child moving into adulthood and am so grateful that I haven’t had to go through the grief of losing a child. The love Sadie has for her children is felt throughout the book and she and her daughter, Lauren, have quite the life altering adventure. I would definitely recommend this book.
This was an incredible book. From the beginning it was obvious that Sadie had very complex relationships. As the story progressed and the layers began to be removed and Sadie’s story was revealed in pieces, what a journey she had been through. I cried tears of joy, relief and sorrow. It was a well written story. And the descriptions of Yosemite made me feel like I was there.
I was gifted this book with the understanding that I would leave an honest review.
I am torn on leaving this review. I would leave a 3.5 star if I could. I see most people have left a 4 or 5. I liked this book, just didn’t love it. I struggled with Sadie’s character at times I thought I would do that for my children but then she seemed to selfish. I thought the daughter Lauren was well written and true to life. The way the story unfolds about the son I found very annoying.
Christine Williams is the narrator of this book and she was wonderful. In Fact she is the main reason I finished the story. Her voice kept me going.
This book shows that relationships change over a person’s lifetime, but what was there is still there even after tragedy. The mother-daughter and wife-husband relationships will continue to grow and change throughout life.
A heartrending story that left my heart full. Beautifully written, I raced through this book because it pulled me in and was so easy to read. Great book for book clubs!
Dancing with the Sun is a beautiful poignant novel of loss, bewilderment, soul-searching, fear, victories, love and family. How do you handle grief? Do you shut out those around pretending everything is fine or do you just find ways to keep moving forward? This story is full over adventure and wonder.
Kay Bratt has you running the gamut of emotions while reading this book. It’s beautiful and sad, wonderful and a bit scary. The incredible words and that give you visuals so you actually feel as you are part of the story is incredible.
I personally loved this book. From the imagery to the immense feelings this is truly a book that needs to and should be read. I highly recommend this book to everyone!
Thank #netgalley and #lakeunionpublishing for allowing me to read this book for a fair and honest review.
As I was reading this book, I kept thinking back to when my husband and I was going to be empty nesters and how I wished things had been different with my daughter. But I thought this is just the relationship mothers and daughters have. After reading the book, I picked up the phone and called my daughter and no we won’t go get lost in the woods, but we can begin the healing process of talking about all the things we left unsaid, wished we had done differently and can have a better relationship in the future. The book showed me it isn’t too late.
I also saw my husband and me in the book. Sometimes I feel like we live separate lives and we communicate less but the book showed me that we can never get back what we had we can move forward to having a wonderful life together so thank you for the book which became a wake-up call for me.
I totally enjoyed reading this book. A mother-daughter relationship that is emotional and heart warming. A mother who feels she didn’t do right by her adopted daughter as her daughter was growing up because of the loss of her and her husbands son Jacob. Sadie goes to visit her daughter at the college she is attending to give her some not so good news, but Lauren takes her out on a hike in Yosemite. Due to circumstances, they go off track and become lost. Lauren and her mother Sadie have to fend for themselves. In the meantime, they grow closer together and Sadie realizes that life was tough for her husband with the loss of their son Jacob too. Sadie realizes what she had missed and makes changes. The book brought so many different emotions out of me. I loved how it ended. A definite 5 star read. Thank you Kay for a wonderful book.
This is my first book by Kay Bratt and I am excited to say she had me at hello. I love finding an author who writes characters who I can identify with, and Sadie could be me. The fierceness of motherhood is ferocious, and Sadie finds strength to take care of her daughter, strength that she thought she had lost. I can’t wait to get my next Kay Bratt book!!!
So much more!
December 5, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
I expected adventure and I got it, but there is so much more here! It got a little church-y for me, but that moved on quickly to spirit instead of building. The family dynamics are wonderful!
Dancing With the Sun is the story of Sadie and Lauren. Sadie has never recovered from her son’s death at a young age and with Lauren away at college, she has started to reevaluate her life. Her marriage is on the rocks; Sadie and her husband have never moved past losing their son. Sadie makes a spur of the moment trip to visit Lauren and tell her the news that her parents are separating. Before Sadie can deliver her news, Lauren suggests a hike in Yosemite. After taking a wrong turn, mother and daughter are hopelessly lost in the wilderness. While battling the elements, they are forced to confront the feelings of loss and grief. I thoroughly enjoyed this heartwarming story. Losing a child is a horror that I hope to never experience but I remember feeling lost when my daughter moved away to college. Kay Bratt has penned an emotional, fast paced tale of a journey through grief and finding a new normal all while battling the wilderness.