Almost Home - by Valerie Fraser Luesse (Paperback)

About the Book

As America enters the Second World War, a melting pot of displaced and disenfranchised boarders enter the boarding house of Dolly Chandler in Blackberry Springs, Alabama. When tragedy strikes, the only hope of salvation lies with the circle of women under Dolly's roof and their ability to discover what happened to a young bride here 100 years ago.

Book Synopsis

With America's entrance into the Second World War, the town of Blackberry Springs, Alabama, has exploded virtually overnight. Workers from all over are coming south for jobs in Uncle Sam's munitions plants--and they're bringing their pasts with them, right into Dolly Chandler's grand but fading family home turned boardinghouse.

An estranged young couple from the Midwest, unemployed professors from Chicago, a widower from Mississippi, a shattered young veteran struggling to heal from the war--they're all hoping Dolly's house will help them find their way back to the lives they left behind. But the house has a past of its own.

When tragedy strikes, Dolly's only hope will be the circle of friends under her roof and their ability to discover the truth about what happened to a young bride who lived there a century before.

Award-winning and bestselling author Valerie Fraser Luesse breathes life into a cast of unforgettable characters in this complex and compassionate story of hurt and healing.

From the Back Cover

The things that tear us apart can also bring us together

With America's entrance into World War II, the town of Blackberry Springs, Alabama, has exploded virtually overnight. Workers from all over are coming south for jobs in Uncle Sam's munitions plants--and they're bringing their pasts with them, right into Dolly Chandler's grand but fading family home turned boardinghouse.

A struggling young couple from the Midwest, unemployed professors from Chicago, a widower from Mississippi, and a shattered young veteran struggling to heal from the war are all hoping Dolly's house will help them find their way back to the lives they left behind. But the house has a past of its own.

When tragedy strikes, Dolly's only hope will be the circle of friends under her roof and their ability to discover the truth about what happened to a young bride who lived there a century before.


"This is the kind of book you can't wait to get home and read every night--to meet up with characters you genuinely like in a feels-so-real place you want to be."--Sara Peterson, editor in chief, HGTV Magazine

"A story of kindness, friendship, and healing, Almost Home shines."--Nancy Dorman-Hickson, coauthor of the award-winning Diplomacy and Diamonds

"Witty, wise, and moving. . . . Almost Home abundantly reveals how friendship and faith endure in spite of--and sometimes because of--trying times."--Jim Baker, journalist and author of The Empty Glass


Valerie Fraser Luesse is the bestselling author of Missing Isaac and an award-winning magazine writer best known for her feature stories and essays in Southern Living, where she is currently the senior travel editor. She and her husband, Dave, live in Birmingham, Alabama.

About the Author

Valerie Fraser Luesse is the bestselling author of Missing Isaac and is an award-winning magazine writer best known for her feature stories and essays in Southern Living, where she is currently a senior travel editor. Specializing in stories about unique pockets of Southern culture, Luesse has published major pieces on the Gulf Coast, the Mississippi Delta, Louisiana's Acadian Prairie, and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Her editorial section on Hurricane Katrina recovery in Mississippi and Louisiana won the 2009 Writer of the Year award from the Southeast Tourism Society. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama.