Sun Seekers

Book excerpt: From Emmy Award-winning writer Rachel McRady comes a vital, illuminating debut novel of a broken family uniting in the face of terrifying crisis, for fans of This is Us and Parenthood. Six-year-old Gracie Lynn is perpetually curious and big-hearted. Convinced she knows how to save her beloved grandfather John from the “worm” that is eating his brain—a metaphor her mother once used to explain John’s dementia and sundown syndrome—she helps him break out of his nursing home, and the two disappear together on a quest to chase the sun. But what’s an adventure for Gracie is a nightmare scenario for her estranged parents, LeeAnn and Dan. There’s no way to predict where John might have taken their young daughter, or if he’s capable of keeping her safe. Jaded beyond her years, and struggling with her own mental health, LeeAnn has no delusions about what might happen if they don’t locate Gracie soon. Dan is no less frantic, but communicating with LeeAnn isn’t easy, even under the circumstances—too much stands between the hopeful young couple they once were and the people they’ve become. An emotionally resonant novel for fans of Fredrik Backman and Mark Haddon, Sun Seekers artfully explores the truths of parenthood, the ways in which we sometimes hurt those we love most, and the universal experience of deep loss—even when the person is still here.