Chocolates for Julia

I left my wedding dress hanging from a tree in North Dakota, for reasons I can't quite explain. That tree seemed somehow fitting, standing there as if it had given up on life long ago and yet still remained upright, unsure of what else to do. In her delightful and moving debut, Cathy Lamb introduces a cast of wonderfully eccentric women in a touching and funny novel that brings to mind The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and The Secret Life of Bees. She explores the different paths that lead us back home.

When Julia Bennett leaves her abusive fiancé at the altar in Boston and leaves her wedding dress hanging from a tree in South Dakota, she realizes that she's driving away from her old self, but she's not exactly sure what she's driving toward. The old Julia had escaped from a difficult childhood in a trailer park with a monstrous mother. The new Julia believes she will find herself at her Aunt Lydia's hundred-year-old farmhouse in Golden, Oregon.

Upon arriving, Julia is welcomed by a warm and eccentric group of women, including a psychic, a minister's dissatisfied wife, an abused mother of four, and Aunt Lydia, a fierce and independent woman. They meet regularly to share their deepest secrets over drinks, and it becomes clear that each of them holds secrets that stand in the way of their happiness. Julia turns to chocolate for comfort, as baking has always been a way for her to heal and make friends. Now, her chocolates may change her life and unexpectedly bring her love.

As Julia opens her heart to new friendships and a new man, her past catches up to her, forcing her to confront it at last. Julia's Chocolates is a heartwarming and truthful novel about hope and healing, exploring the pain we carry in our hearts, the love that frees us, the courage that defines us, and the power of chocolate. Praise for Cathy Lamb and Julia's Chocolates "Julia's Chocolates is wise, tender, and very funny. In Julia Bennett, Cathy Lamb has created a deeply wonderful character, brave and true. I loved this beguiling novel about love, friendship, and the enchantment of really good chocolate." --Luanne Rice, New York Times bestselling author

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