The Healing Season, Volume 3: Winter
This is Book 3 of a 4-book set. It must be read in order. If you somehow found yourself here without reading books 1 and 2, go back now. This won't make sense without the pieces you learn in Summer and Autumn.
Each book is named after the season that corresponds with the personality of the member of the McNally family that it mainly follows. Holden is Autumn, but that melancholy season of thoughtful conversation is over.
Atticus is Winter. The sun is nearly gone. The season of his story is horrible—it isn’t the equivalent of going to a chilly amusement park and falling in love, like autumn. The crushing weight of Atticus’s grief is supposed to feel smothering and inescapable. You get to experience fear, and grief, and pain from the perspectives of all the characters. Just like in real life, we don’t always deal with those feelings in a mature way: there are tempers flaring, and meanness, and fighting, and speaking without thinking about the other person’s feelings…and honestly, I think that’s okay, as long as we recognize the places we messed up, grow, and apologize.
Atticus’s grief and pain can be hard to wade through (just like real depression) but when things finally get better for him, it is all the sweeter. When we finally get to know Harper, she is a sinking ship with a fraying lifeline. If her life was going smoothly, she would be capable enough to help Atticus, but she doesn't realize how quickly her own boat is sinking too.
I hope that you love Atticus and Harper enough to stick with them for the duration of this book so that you can experience the reward of springtime with all the characters.
Please note: This is a character-driven family drama with romantic elements, not a traditional romance. Some books in the series are intentionally heavier with less spice as the characters navigate grief and trauma.
