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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A good story about a hiking adventure that becomes about survival. The transformation in the characters brought about by the hiking experience was a well thought-out set-up to the satisfying ending.
This was the first book I’ve read by Kay Bratt. While some of the things in it were not quite believeable such as the bear it was still a good read. Maybe needs a bit more research on such things. The things the story dealt with – grief especially were handled in a unique way. I also loved the explanation of the book title. It brought back some good memories.
I like all this author’s books, especially the one’s about China. This story of a mother and daughter was emotional and very realistic with their relationships and how mother’s think. I stayed up late one night to see how it ended and really enjoyed the adventure and story!
Had a hard time putting this down! I felt like I walked every step with them. A great story and ending.
Dancing with the Sun by Kay Bratt
Wow! I will never look at a short hike the same way again! Sadie Harlan is mom struggling to deal with a past loss and attempting to come to terms with what she believes is her husband’s infidelity. She decides to visit her daughter Lauren who is an intern at Yosemite National Park. She wants to talk to her in person and tell her that her marriage is failing. On the way from the airport Lauren wants to take her mom to see Tenaya Lake. Sadie has some misgivings and wonders if they need to let someone know they are going on a hike. Lauren assures her it is a short distance, not really a hike but a walk and they will be back to their car before dark. That was before running for their lives and getting lost in the process. It has been years since Sadie did anything outside in nature, in fact she avoids it at all costs. Now she is trying to protect Lauren and get them out of Yosemite alive. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and my only complaint would be that I wanted it to last longer.
I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Wow, Kay Bratt has done it again. Another novel, another home run! “Dancing with the Sun” hit really close to home for me. I have 2 daughters adopted from China, and my oldest and I struggle with our relationship daily. I know it’s a fictional story, but Kay Bratt gave me some hope that someday we just might get the chance to make it better.
When all you have is each other to to lean on and draw strength from, relationships definitely change. I can see after reading “Dancing with the Sun” how Sadie and I have some life similarities.
Kay Bratt composes wonderful novels, and “Dancing with the Sun” is no exception. The only thing different is I feel like she has grown, matured in her writing. I completely fell in love with all the characters in this wonderful new novel! Praise be to God for putting me in the right place to have the opportunity to read it. Finally, thank you, Kay Bratt for accepting me into your circle. My life is richer for that!!!
I give “Dancing with the Sun” 5 stars, and a million recommendations!!!!! (less)
An emotional tale of a mother/ daughter relationship. Once again Kay Bratt writes a masterful story that Riggs on our hear strings while inspiring us to shore up relationships. *I was provided an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
All mother and child relationships are complex and change over time. This story explores the changing relationship of a mother/daughter duo (Sadie and Lauren) as they work together to survive the unexpected. This book made me want to keep reading until I got to the end. Great job, Kay Bratt!
This book will tug at your heartstrings, and put a smile on your face.
Danielle Steel used to be my favorite author, move over Danielle, Kay Bratt has taken your place.
Kay is a very talented writer and this latest book is beautifully written. As always, she does an excellent job with character development and really makes you care about the characters and not want to put the book down. It’s nail biting in parts, but is ultimately an uplifting and encouraging story about personal triumph. I also appreciate the amount of research that I can tell went into making sure the facts about the setting were realistic and accurate.
As usual Kay Bratt finds a way of sharing what is going on the the minds of her characters. Anyone can narrate a story, but Kay tells you how her characters feel, in a way no author that I have read can do.
Dancing with the Sun is her latest example of sharing emotions and thoughts of her wonderful characters.
Kay Bratt’s writing always sucks me in, she develops her characters in a way that you can honestly relate to them. You feel like you get to know them and are invested in their lives. This book is no different. It will give you all the feels of a mother/daughter relationship and could even help you see things in yourself (that you might or might not want to see).
I was an advanced reader for this book and I definitely recommend it to all my bookworm friends!
What a beautiful story of love and hope! After the loss of her son, Sadie is consumed with grief and becomes lost in the wilderness with her daughter. Through the fight to survive, they finally face the grief of losing their beloved family member. Kay Bratt has given us an emotion-filled story of love and loss, courage and hope. Thank you, Kay!
A beautifully written story about Family,marriage,love,loss,grief and finding the strength inside yourself you never knew you had!
Another winner from Kay Bratt! Just when you think you “know” her, she writes a novel totally unlike any of her other books. (ALL of which are worthy reads, by the way. ) This story centers around one of life’s most binding relationships – that of a mother and daughter, and is at the same time thought provoking and suspenseful.
I purchased Dancing with the Sun because I have read and thoroughly enjoyed every single book that Kay Bratt has written. Dancing with the Sun is so much more than a survival story of people lost in the wilderness while becoming disoriented on a simple hike. It is a survival story in overcoming and living with grief, a struggling marriage, the changing role of parenting an adult child, and learning to forgive, both oneself and others.
I completely related to Sadie, as I also have an adult daughter adopted from China, who like Sadie’s daughter, is in college away from home. While I have not lost another of my children to a tragic accident, this book is so well written that I felt the emotions as if I was experiencing them first hand.
I highly recommend Dancing with the Sun, and in addition to reading a powerful novel that will move you, you will learn the interesting meaning behind the title. It is a meaning that will stay with me forever.
As someone who lost their own mother more than half a lifetime ago, I often find it hard to read about mothers and daughters who aren’t getting along. Yet I read this book cover-to-cover in just a couple of evenings and really enjoyed the story. I won’t give away the plot line, but this book shows that even a difficult relationship can still be based in love. Had me crying at the end. Enjoy – it’s a wonderful read.
It took me a while to get into it but I liked this book overall. Dancing With the Sun is an emotional and heartfelt book about a struggling mother-daughter relationship and the mother’s pent up feelings. They end up in quite a situation and have to try to put aside their differences to work together through it all. It’s a lovely and unexpected journey and a tear-jerker for sure. You won’t regret reading this.
Sadie Harlan’s grief has caused her to insulate herself from everyone and everything she loves. Blinded by her grief, she doesn’t realize how disconnected she is from her loved ones. When Sadie decides to visit her daughter, she finds herself on an unexpected hiking trip in Yosemite. Things go wrong, and Sadie and Lauren find themselves lost and unprepared they are forced to rely on survival skills they didn’t know they had. Even though Sadie has chronic pain, she pushes herself to protect her daughter, no matter how bad her own pain is. Being lost might turn out to be the best thing to happen to Sadie and Lauren. While they are trying to survive they are also dealing with deeper issues: grief, past mistakes, adoption and regret just to name a few.
I really enjoyed this book a lot. Kay Bratt has a way of pulling me in to the story and making me feel as though I know the characters and I think that is a gift. If you haven’t read Kay’s books, please do! If you’re looking for an uplifting book that hits you in the ‘feels’ you can’t go wrong with this one.
I was provided an ARC of this book for my honest opinion.
Grab a cup of coffee or tea, and sit back and enjoy. Kay Bratt has given us another enjoyable read. As a mother of 4 daughters, I enjoyed the mother-daughter adventure, where they go through the many emotions of that relationship…love, strife, hope, courage, and just being there for each other. Read and enjoy!