“Norris is a master at creating indelible, fascinating imagery and inventing a world that feels real to readers. The writing is moving and lyrical, peppered with sparkling dialogues and compelling descriptions.”
Matthew Novak ~ The Book Commentary
Where the Heart Is: A Homecoming by D. L. Norris is an endearing tale that will ignite strong emotions in readers and lift their hearts with its satisfying denouement. The sudden death of Jenna Davis-Wilson’s father changes her life and the life of her family in ways Jenna could never have imagined. Jenna and Marcus decide to move back to the old family manor in Tilden, Nebraska, together with their two children — nine-year-old Ben and six-year-old Allie. While Jenna and her family are settling into their ancestral home, Jenna inadvertently unearths dark family secrets. Can Jenna reconcile with the past without destroying a treasured family relationship?
Written with grace and heart, this multifaceted story explores themes of family, parenthood, faith, and humanity. The female heroine must navigate a complex web to heal the legacy of her ancestry, find reconciliation, and build meaningful friendships. The characters are cleverly imagined and wonderfully written, each dealing with unique situations. Aunt Lee represents the older generations, and her views often contrast those held by younger characters in the story. The family dynamics are intelligently accomplished, and readers will enjoy following each thread of the story and deeper layers of the characters as they evolve. Norris is a master at creating indelible, fascinating imagery and inventing a world that feels real to readers. The writing is moving and lyrical, peppered with sparkling dialogues and compelling descriptions. Where the Heart Is: A Homecoming redefines the concept of home and shows readers how they can grow past their hurts and establishes strong bridges between their past and their present while connecting meaningfully with those around them. The idea of coming home is explored at different levels, and for Jenna, it is about dealing with what has been hidden, secrets, and changes she never anticipated. Her journey to recreating “home” from this place with memories that tug at her heart is extraordinarily beautiful. It is cleverly rendered, human-embracing, and poignant. You will hear the heartbeats of Norris’ characters and will fall in love with each one of them.
Hope insists, despite evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits if we have the courage to believe.
D. L. Norris
In times of uncertainty, our hearts long for a return to normalcy and stability. We look for comforting signs that speak of consistency as we navigate through the unknowns. Being a hopeful thinker about the future helps to build our resilience, giving us yet another tool for handling stress, change, and adversity.
Personally, I have discovered immense joy in the signs of approaching spring (especially if winter has seemed long) —purple crocus, bright yellow forsythia, and the return of beautiful migrating birds. It doesn’t change the fact that we may be in the middle of a crisis, but it does remind us that there is still beauty all around us. For those of faith, it is a clear demonstration that someone higher than us is in control. Where will our hope take us? To a place of peace and calm if we allow.
In the early days following the death of my precious mother, my heart was crushed. Grief was excruciating, life-draining. There is little doubt in my mind that even with the assistance of a support group, I had lost my way. I know that some thought my grief was intense and, to a degree, unwarranted. Because of, unsolicited counsel was free flowing. In retrospect, I know now that no one can tell you how or how long to grieve. Grief will not simply go away in time.
Five years have now gone by since she departed, and with this passage of time, my grief has changed. No longer do I view it as a mortal enemy, but rather a gentle companion. Slowly, grief released the torturous hold on my heart and graciously allowed me to bask in genuine joy. I will never forget my dear mother, never stop missing her. But I am learning to live without her.
To those of you who may be in the initial stages of grief, my heart is with you. If you are so inclined, feel free to share your experiences either privately with me, or with our community of followers. I have learned valuable lessons extracted from my very personal experience with loss—and subsequent grief.
In closing, be gentle with yourself. Give your heart the time it needs to grieve completely. Do not try to short-circuit the process of grief—it cannot, will not, be manipulated. Most importantly, believe that there will be joy again.
The start of a new year is the perfect time to turn a new page, which is probably why so many people make New Year’s resolutions. The new year often feels like a fresh start and a great opportunity to change undesirable habits and establish new routines that will help you grow psychologically, emotionally, socially, physically, or intellectually. A good starting point is self-reflection.
Honest self-reflection requires asking yourself questions about your values, assessing your strengths and failures, thinking about your perceptions and interactions with others, and imagining how you see your life in the future. Ready for new beginnings?
“Where the Heart Is, A Homecoming is a beautifully written and emotionally resonant story that offers inspiration and hope without shying away from the real difficulties people face, for a moving and multilayered work of contemporary fiction.”
SPR
Heartwarming and thought-provoking, Where the Heart Is: A Homecoming by D.L. Norris is a novel in which love, parenthood, and family history intertwine, exploring the many-faceted legacy that new generations inherit from those who came before.
When Jenna and Marcus learn from Aunt Lee that Jenna’s father has passed away, they decide to move back to the old family manor house in Tilden, Nebraska. It’s a new life for all of them – 9-year-old Ben learns to grieve for his beloved grandad with a new maturity, 6-year-old Allie discovers a different style of life by bonding with an Amish girl, and Aunt Lee’s narrow views are challenged by the family’s younger generations.
Marcus and Jenna, with baby Landers on his way, are glad to rediscover the beauty of their birthplace, which awakens many golden memories. However, family history is never straightforward – while exploring the manor, Jenna stumbles upon her forebears’ secrets, which shake her to the bone. Will she and her loving family be able to dispel the manor’s darker side?
With a pen both sweet and sharp, Norris writes a layered and absorbing story, offering the readers a vivid picture of Tilden and its thriving community, mostly descended from Scandinavian settlers. Far from being a purely sentimental portrait, Norris succeeds in bringing to the page light and darkness, hope and grief, humanity and prejudice, and the occasion to reflect on complex themes such as homophobia, racism, and the oppression of women.
Imbued with a sense of the divine, the novel captures the conflict between old-fashioned views and the open-minded attitude of a new generation of believers, showing how the only way forward is to embrace the changes that will improve the future for everyone. Not only do Jenna and Marcus try to open Aunt Lee’s eyes on many issues, but their friend Leah confronts the patriarchal system in her Amish community, and Micah and Hanna fight against their parents’ reactionary mindset to build their own kind of happiness.
Through each of the protagonists, the reader glimpses the bigger picture about these issues, and sees how hurtful biases from the past can still affect the present, illustrating how this is not a one-family struggle, but a hurtful clash that runs through society, and only by learning to be kind and respectful of everyone can the community flourish in the new century. It’s a vital and important message, and one that is woven well into the overall family drama.
Where the Heart Is, A Homecoming is a beautifully written and emotionally resonant story that offers inspiration and hope without shying away from the real difficulties people face, for a moving and multilayered work of contemporary fiction. ~ SPR
Nothing ushers in the holiday season like a cozy fire, a cup of hot chocolate, and a good read. Now you can instantly download The Long Way Home, A Novel and Where the Heart Is, A Homecoming with the click of a button andfor only $1.98 each. Enjoy a nostalgic, heartwarming journey back to a simpler time with these two captivating stories.
Retired educator Brenda Burke says of The Long Way Home, A Novel, “It was fantastic, and I look forward to more of the same. Craft of writing excellent and the characters jump off the page and enter one’s living room.”
Readers’ Favorite Deborah Lloyd says of Where the Heart Is, A Homecoming, “A delightful and thought-provoking read!”
The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the “greatest humorist the United States has produced” and also called the “father of American literature”. His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), the latter of which has often been called the “Great American Novel”. Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and Pudd’nhead Wilson.
In 1873, Sam and Olivia Clemens engaged New York architect Edward Tuckerman Potter to design their Hartford, Connecticut dream home. Construction began in August of that year, while Sam and Olivia were abroad. Although there was still much finish work to be completed on the 11,500 square foot, 25 room grand structure, the family moved into their home on September 19, 1874. Mark Twain would later say that the two decades of living in Hartford were the happiest and most productive of his life. Note: I live within walking distance of this beautiful historic home which is now a museum and open to the public.
Mark Twain was born two weeks after Halley’s Comet’s closest approach to earth in 1835; he said in 1909: “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don’t go out with Halley’s Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: “Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.” Twain’s prediction was eerily accurate; he died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910, one day after the comet’s closest approach to earth.
Author D. L. Norris has written a captivating novel with Where the Heart Is: A Homecoming. A delightful and thought-provoking read!
Deborah Lloyd, Readers’ Favorite, 5-Star
The long-awaited sequel Where the Heart Is: A Homecoming is available in hardcover, paperback, Kindle, Nook, Apple iPad and Google Play editions.
Where the Heart Is: A Homecoming artfully follows the return of Jenna Davis-Wilson and her two lively children to the nostalgic home of her childhood in Madison County, Nebraska. A spontaneous decision to take up permanent residency at the old Victorian manor following her father’s sudden death ushers in a myriad of unexpected twists and turns. Jenna’s husband Marcus, a well-respected obstetrician in New York, also relocates to smalltown Tilden where tensions mount with a longtime family friend and her opinionated, prejudicial tirades. The discovery of a dark family secret locked away for decades in an old attic trunk threatens to overshadow a highly esteemed ancestral image and brings into question everything that Jenna believes about her cherished legacy. Her well-intentioned efforts to reconcile the sins of the past soothe the soul of a local grieving widower—while at the same time jeopardize a treasured family relationship. In a gentle twist of fate, common ground is unearthed, relationships are mended, and a lasting legacy of love without conditions is revealed along the way. Where the Heart Is is a charming, captivating story about life—friendship, loss, reconciliation, and love.
“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety. Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in. Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”
