As a young mother, New York Times bestselling author Lisa Wingate wrote a novel “during little-boy nap times and preschool play dates.” Seventeen years have passed since then, and Wingate, a writer friend for many of those years, has written the hugely popular Before We Were Yours and more than two dozen other novels.

“The baby boys who made writing a piecemeal job back then have grown and flown and found lives of their own,” she said. “The nest is empty, but the story remains.”

This month an anniversary edition of that first novel, Tending Roses, has been released, and it’s the kind of novel that many of you enjoy, about the bonds of family and the power of second chances. The novel is woven around stories that Grandma Rose writes and leaves in a secret journal for her granddaughter, Kate. Beyond that, a main part of the plot is dealing with a family member with Alzheimer’s, a familiar challenge to many. Read more…