"A book as wise and unflinching as an old growth forest, filled with the capricious beauty and brutality of life. Kaya Maclaren gives us a powerful, deeply moving story of a family in desperate need of healing and the paths each of them must walk to find it, and shows us how we might all find hope if we can pause long enough to listen to the whispers of nature."
-Barbara O'Neal, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Amazon Charts #1 bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids
"I loved every single thing about this book. The Road To Enchantment overflows with all the things that matter: Endearing and complicated characters, music; wine; awareness of nature’s fierce beauty; heartbreak and redemption; family; friendship, reunions, loss and beauty — all in a setting so profoundly real you can feel the New Mexico sun on your face. Apache traditions saturate the narrative as Willow attempts to set her life to rights after tragedy. A captivating and enchanting story full of mystical awareness—a novel not to be missed.”
-Patti Callahan Henry
“What a generous, big-hearted book this is. McLaren explores her subjects—friendship, regret, rebirth, the irresistible pull of place—with such tenderness that you’ll find yourself wishing you could be a Firelight Girl, too.”
—Marisa de los Santos, New York Times bestselling author of Love Walked In
“Touching, brilliantly insightful, and deeply compassionate…The Firelight Girls is a story of the places we love and how we never outgrow them, and a sweet reminder that sometimes we have to go back before we can move forward.”
—Amy Hill Hearth, New York Times bestselling author of Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years and the national bestseller, Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women’s Literary Society
“A gem of a novel. I loved the fresh setting and quirky, endearing cast of characters. How I Came to Sparkle Again is like a perfect run down a black diamond slope.”
—Kristen Hannah, author of The Nightengale
“This novel is filled with all my favorite things: characters who are so real you want to reach out and give them a hug, a magical setting, enough surprises to keep the pages turning, heartbreak, laughter, crying, and sighing. Not to be missed!”
—Susan Wiggs, author of Starlight on Willow Lake (The Lakeshore Chronicles)
“A generous and endearing novel of loss and reconnection, of friendship and love and finding your way home, where the ski bums have big hearts and name their dogs after beer.”
—Erica Bauermeister, author of The Lost Art of Mixing
“McLaren weaves a wonderfully tender story of three lives in search of love and healing that will leave you crying, laughing, and wanting for more. A true page-turner.”
—Susan Gregg Gilmore, author of The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove
“Both entertaining and wise... so much fun to read!”
—Nancy Thayer, author of The Guest Cottage
“Weaves together the stories of two women and a young girl grappling with love and loss... surprisingly hilarious supporting characters... warm, satisfying, a treat.”
—Sarah Pekkanen, author of Things You Won’t Say
"I admired Kaya McLaren's lovely novel, Church of the Dog, but when I met Jade -- a girl trying to hold onto the kite strings of her flying-apart family without being pulled off the ground -- I wanted to shelter her and all her kith from emotional destruction. On The Divinity of Second Chances is not unfairly called divine."
- Jacquelyn Mitchard author The Deep End of the Ocean and Cage of Stars
"McLaren’s involving novel is an uplifting story about unconditional love and family ties."
- Booklist
"... an upbeat antidote to the querulous times in which we live. Why not treat yourself?"
- The Bellingham (WA) Herald
"McLaren brings light to a vulnerable and heartbreaking situation with a grace and dignity not seen by most."
- Deseret (UT) News
"With prose as clear and pure as mountain water, Kaya McLaren has written a testament to the plain sense of things. CHURCH OF THE DOG is spiritual, even a little magical, but it's also incredibly practical. McLaren has a glorious way of finding beauty in the bigger picture. A lovely, uplifting book."
— Sarah Addison Allen, author of GARDEN SPELLS and THE SUGAR QUEEN
"CHURCH OF THE DOG is a radiant novel that honors the broken among us, tenderly healing with its love, humor, and understanding. Kaya McLaren is a deeply wonderful writer. From the opening scene of Mara in her grandmother's garden, through the wrenching finale on the ranch, I was stunned by this book. It's a classic on the spirituality of everyday life..."
— Luanne Rice, New York Times bestselling author of LIGHT OF THE MOON
"Kaya McLaren's sincere and generous feelings for all the creatures of this world make this novel of comforting magic both heartfelt and heartening."
— Christina Schwarz, author of DROWNING RUTH and ALL IS VANITY
"What a genuinely surprising novel Kaya McLaren has written, with characters that are each, in their own way, quietly magical and also heartbreakingly true. Like Barbara Kingsolver's early heroines, Mara O'Shaunnessey lives in the real world but reminds us, in all her actions, that animals can be messengers of truth and love has transformative powers."
— Cammie McGovern, author of EYE CONTACT
"This is a sweet, whimsical tale of love and friendship, a slice of pure life. It is a beautiful story that is not to be missed."
— Lynne Hinton, author of FRIEND:SHIP CAKE and THE ARMS OF GOD