Review: The Crying Tree by Naseem Rakha

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; 1 Reprint edition (July 6, 201
• ISBN-10: 0767931742
• Source: Terra Communications

When Deputy Sheriff Nate Stanley is offered a deputy post in Oregon, he doesn’t hesitate to pack up his wife, Irene, and his children Shep & Bliss & leave behind their small, quiet Illinois town. Irene can’t help but be apprehensive, but Nate insists it is for the best. Despite Nate’s reassurances, Irene can’t help shake loose of the bad feeling she has.

They settle in to their new home and things really do seem like they are improving. Shep, fifteen, starts exploring Oregon’s high desert  fairly regular basis.  Just when life seems to be improving for the Stanley family, tragedy strikes when Shep is shot to death in their home.  Nate discovers him but is unable to save him.

Obviously, the family’s life is sent into a tumble. Irene, in particular, is hit very hard.  She had quite the bond with Shep and can’t seem to let him go.  Month after month, year after year, she follows the case of the man who killed her son: his trial, his death sentence, the plans for his imminent execution.

The retribution she seeks, however, doesn’t even make a dent in the pain & desperation for closure she is seeking.  Irene makes an extremely brave decision to write her son’s killer on death row.

“Hating you, Mr. Robbin, wanting to see you dead, and wanting to be there when it happened, has been all I’ve lived for these past years.  It was the only thing that had any meaning, and the only way I could think to serve my son.”

And then…the ultimate, unbelievable statement:

“I forgive you for what you did to my son.  For whatever it may be worth, I understand people make mistakes in life, Mr. Robbin, and I forgive you yours.”

What Irene doesn’t expect is that he writes back, and thus begins a secret correspondence for years, the only thing that restores Irene’s spirit. A very unlikely friendship begins and continues for over a decade.   When Irene receives notice that her son’s killer is to be executed she is desperate to stop it.  She’s forgiven him and doesn’t want to see him die.

This notification is the first domino, setting into motion a series of events that will forever change the Stanley family.  Irene learns she wasn’t the only one keeping a shocking secret.

The Crying Tree is a powerful tale of love, friendship, & forgiveness. Rakha captures the feelings of the grieving family in a way I’ve never experienced. I constantly had to remind myself that this book was a piece of fiction, that the characters were not real.  I mourned with Irene when she lost Shep.  I sobbed for pages.  I couldn’t imagine the pain she was feeling.  When she decided to write Shep’s accused killer, I felt anger but ultimately understanding for her actions.

The Crying Tree is an extremely exceptional read that I highly recommend.  The characters, specifically Irene, Shep, & his killer, will be in my heart and on my mind for some time, beyond the turning of the last page.

Please be sure to check back tomorrow for an interview with Naseem Rakha & a giveaway for this tremendous book.