The Last Stars in the Sky

An unforgettable and heartbreaking story about one woman’s determination to keep her family together when the world falls apart.

“Mom, why are you so mad at Dad?”

“I’m not,” I say, which isn’t exactly true. Putting on a brave face for my two young daughters—pretending everything is fine in my marriage—has been hard. That, and losing the house after Daniel lied to me.

I never expected to have to uproot my family to go live in my parents’ isolated cottage on Lost Lake. It’s twenty miles to the nearest town, an insignificant speck in endless pine forests. Nobody’s lived here for a decade.

Now,...

An unforgettable and heartbreaking story about one woman’s determination to keep her family together when the world falls apart.

“Mom, why are you so mad at Dad?”

“I’m not,” I say, which isn’t exactly true. Putting on a brave face for my two young daughters—pretending everything is fine in my marriage—has been hard. That, and losing the house after Daniel lied to me.

I never expected to have to uproot my family to go live in my parents’ isolated cottage on Lost Lake. It’s twenty miles to the nearest town, an insignificant speck in endless pine forests. Nobody’s lived here for a decade.

Now, I pick up a rusty pail from its nest of autumn leaves and turn to my daughter. Suddenly, I recall how I used to help my own mother pick wild strawberries up here as a little girl. Maybe, this isn’t a punishment. Maybe this place will be the making of our family.

Later, I’ll hold on to these memories—ghostly shreds of another life. Because just eight hours after I tucked my daughters into bed, feeling so hopeful, the world as I knew it—as anyone knew it—was gone for good.

What do you do when the worst thing in the world happens to your family?