Author(s): David Guterson

Fiction

From the best selling author of Snow Falling on Cedars: the story of a teenage girl who sees a vision of hope in the heart of the forest. A timely warning on the dangers of religious zealotry and fanaticism, reminiscent of The Crucible.

Ann Holmes seems an unlikely candidate for revelation. A sixteen-year-old runaway, she is an itinerant mushroom picker who lives in a tent. Her past has been tough. Then one November afternoon, in the foggy woods of North Fork, Washington, the Virgin comes to her. Is this delusion, a product of her occasional drug use, or a true calling to God? Gradually word spreads, and thousands converge upon the already troubled town. For Tom Cross, an embittered logger who's been out of work since his son was paralysed in a terrible accident, the possibility that Ann's visions are real offers a last chance for him and his son. The new priest, Father Collins searches both his own soul and Ann's, smart-talking, fellow mushroomer Carolyn struggles with her less than admirable intentions, and Tom alternates between despair and hope; Our Lady of the Forest combines suspense, grit and humour in a story of faith at a contemporary crossroad.