Sung Home, by Laura Ramnarace
This is a hopeful post-apocalyptic trilogy, and that descriptor intrigued me enough that I went and bought the book. I read it, then bought and read the sequel Growing Home, and then the final book of the series, Rising Home. I’m not a fan of apocalyptic stories, so this is a first for me. Hopeful but realistic, with a purpose that transcends mere survival, I found these books based on a real-world understanding of both the challenges we face, and the solutions that we’ve already begun. The characters are deep and multi-faceted, and they grow, which is one of my criteria for a good book. And the series has a novelty that I’ve never seen elsewhere, since its setting is the region of New Mexico that I live in, and it’s fascinating to follow the travels of the characters, and the groups they meet, and the places in which they gather — so familiar to me!
It’s nice, too, see a vision of humanity in which we can come together, not without struggle, and toil, and some heartbreak, and the occasional conflict, but without the sense that we’ve all grown into these last years, of people with whom connections seem impossible, and understanding and empathy as almost archaic. In that sense, this book gave me hope again, that we really can grow, and become, and learn to live together, if not always in peace, at least with an understanding of how to walk the road together, even if we don’t always agree on all the signage.
I think what else drew me to the book is the sense of liminal space here — these people are building a new world, a new way of being, a new way of living as a people. That’s the kind of story that resonates with me, and I think that if someone likes Laura’s books, they’ll find something to enjoy in my own writing as well. I believe readers would enjoy having both our series on their bookshelf, digital or physical, and I hope others would agree.