Author: A.M. Leibowitz
Publisher: Supposed Crimes
Publication Date: November 1, 2017
Length: 238 pages (~84k words)
Genre: Literary fiction/romance
Categories/Tags: Bisexual, transgender, grief & loss,
spirituality, Christianity
ISBN: 1944591273 (ISBN13: 9781944591274)
ASIN: B0764ZQMJP
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36086132-keeping-the-faith
Purchase Links:
Synopsis:
It’s been three years since Micah’s spouse, Cat, passed away
at the age of thirty-six. In the process of cleaning his house, Micah discovers
a series of letters Cat hid before he died, in which he made one request: that
Micah empty his life of Cat as a way of moving on. Micah has been able to work
through his sorrow, but he’s unable to fulfill Cat’s last wish. He can’t see a
way past his loneliness despite all the caring people around him.
Enter two new friendships. Jude, Micah’s vivacious new
coworker, brings joy back into his life. But she has a big secret about her
family, and the truth will rock Micah’s understanding of who she is. Chris, the
new minister at Cat’s former church, intrigues Micah. Unlike Jude, Chris is an
open book, from his musings on theology to his work as a trans advocate and
activist. His gentle manner and deep faith become safe space for Micah to open
up about his loss.
Through them, Micah becomes involved with the town’s new
community center, where he offers a creative writing class. Using Cat’s
detailed letters, he fictionalizes their love story to share with his students.
In doing so, he at last begins to sort through his complicated grief. Micah
learns he doesn’t have to erase his life with Cat in order to make new
memories. He may even be falling for Chris, despite their vastly different
spiritual views. With a little help from family and friends, Micah will need to
open his heart to love completely again.
Content warning:
This book is about loss and grief, particularly the death of
a long-term partner. There are scenes of character death, funerals, and
reactions to loss. There are also numerous references to spiritual trauma,
lgbtqia antagonism, abusive family members, and previous suicide attempts.
There are no graphic or detailed scenes of the content, however they are
mentioned throughout. It may bring up strong feelings in readers. It is not
meant to describe every person’s experience nor give advice.
Exclusive Excerpt:
The cat
showed up the day before school started.
It was an
orange tabby, strikingly handsome and as cool as you please when he perched on
the stoop staring up at the open door with his unblinking green eyes. Micah had
only gone to retrieve the mail, but there was the beast. It opened its mouth
and offered a meow in greeting.
Amused,
Micah replied, “Hello to you too.”
He
reached down to see if the cat had a collar and was rewarded with a whap
of the cat’s paw. Fortunately, the thing kept its claws retracted. Micah
straightened up and crossed his arms, glowering down at the cat.
“No need
to be so touchy. Not going to let me see who you belong to, then? Fine. Maybe
if I feed you. Wait here.”
He
retreated inside the house and went to the kitchen. Inside, he pulled out a
bowl and rooted through the fridge to see if there was anything cat-friendly.
The most he found there was last night’s leftover casserole, which didn’t seem
appealing for his guest. He finally located a can of tuna in the pantry and
dumped the whole thing into the bowl. As he turned around to cart it back to
the stoop, he nearly dropped it when the cat leaped up on the counter next to
him, purring.
“Jesus,
you scared me,” Micah muttered at him. “Thought I closed the door. Please, feel
free to make yourself at home.” He nudged the cat, who jumped off the counter
and wound himself around Micah’s leg.
Micah set
the bowl down, and the cat began eating. At last Micah could see if the thing
had a collar and tag. Unfortunately, he had neither. Micah scratched him a
little behind his ears. Poor thing looked like he hadn’t had a decent meal in a
while—he was on the scrawny side. Friendly, though, so he must have come from a
family at some point. Micah would need to ask around to see if anyone had lost
their pet.
When the
cat finished eating, he rubbed up against Micah’s shin, stretching and purring.
Micah chuckled softly. Mr. Whiskers had certainly made it clear he intended to
stay a while. No harm in that; he would be well cared-for until Micah located
his real owner.
He
started for the living room, and the cat followed, hopping into Micah’s lap the
moment he settled down in his chair to flip on the television. Micah put his
feet up, and the cat curled against his stomach, rumbling away. As Micah stroked
his fur, he thought about how nice it was to have a warm body in the house
again. He loved living next door to his sister-in-law, and her kids kept him
busy. But it wasn’t the same as having another soul around all the time.
“Wish I
knew your name,” Micah said to the cat. “I can’t just call you Cat.” He
swallowed the lump in his throat and fought the tears pricking his eyes. Every
little thing, it seemed, brought up his long-gone spouse these days.
The cat
placed his paw on Micah’s cheek where the tear tracked its way down. He
head-butted Micah, still purring. Sorrow turned to laughter as the cat’s
whiskers tickled Micah’s chin before the animal settled back down with his tail
curled around him. Keeping one hand on the cat’s back, Micah flipped channels
to find something—anything—which would take his mind off his grief even for a
little while. Before he knew it, both he and the cat were fast asleep.
Author Bio:
A. M. Leibowitz is a queer
spouse, parent, feminist, and book-lover falling somewhere on the Geek-Nerd
Spectrum. They keep warm through the long, cold western New York winters by
writing about life, relationships, hope, and happy-for-now endings. In between
noveling and editing, they blog coffee-fueled, quirky commentary on faith,
culture, writing, books, and their family.
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