One River - by Melinda Flurry (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Treacherous currents of custom, class, race and gender flow beneath surface waters of the Ganges and Mississippi rivers. Two lives from their shores converge in "One River."

Willa Lutz is a 27-year-old reclusive painter from Memphis who rebels against her wealthy family. Drifting and aimless in 1987, she's on the verge of losing her dilapidated yet beloved old house to foreclosure. Her father agrees to bail her out one last time as she relents, accepting his hastily made-up job assignment for her in Germany. Unimagined adventures and travels to India and Nepal unfold where she explores friendship, love, and an understanding of her own place in a bigger world.

Jaya Patel was wed at age 14 but she is not the typical rural Indian child bride. After her only brother died at a young age, her father raised her with privileges typically reserved for boys. She learned to read and write English and she fell in love with books. She attempts to keep this secret as she succumbs to the status quo, functioning as an obedient and traditional rural wife. When her mother-in-law dies, Jaya's role within the family is redefined and challenges within it erupt.

When Willa and Jaya meet an unlikely friendship is forged as their cultural identities are challenged while spiritual fires are ignited, and funeral pyres emerge and threaten. "One River" is an immersion into their unique friendship as they struggle to break free of cultural and familial expectations in an effort to uncover their own peace and purpose.