Cover Image: Dancing with the Sun

Dancing with the Sun

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Member Reviews

There is so much more to this story than Sadie and Lauren getting lost on a little hike. There is a mother's grief for the loss of her first born child and her inability to openly grieve and share this with her family. Sadie is pushed to survival mode and will not let anything happen to this Lauren. The time she is spending with Lauren has broken down walls and helped heal wounds that she didn't even know were there. I enjoyed this story because sometimes we are put in a situation beyond our control or past our control and you think about what you have in front of you and what's important in life. It lights a fire in perspective.
The author did a really great job with character development and building the personalities of both Lauren and Sadie. They have a new adventure to start planning.....

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I think one of my worst fears is being lost in the wilderness, I am so ill equipped as I’m not the outdoorsy type at all and I’m sure I would have a panic attack. Bratt taps into that fear in this novel and takes both the characters and the reader on an unforgettable journey that shook me to my core.

Sadie and Lauren share a typical mother and daughter bond, the kind where things aren’t always easy and there is plenty of strife. With Lauren in college now Sadie is feeling the loss of her child and Lauren is trying to break free, gain independence and grow into a mature adult. I felt so much empathy for Sadie as a mom, she just wants to protect her daughter and being lost in a national park makes this difficult to say the least. Both women were extremely well developed and both undergo a pretty serious transformation throughout the book which is always a pleasure to witness.

There were so many great themes here, it explored the love between a mother and daughter, loss, grief and how to find inner strength when you’re just beyond hope. It was so beautifully and was a true story of survival and relentless resilience in the face of extreme adversity.

Dancing With the Sun in three words: Inspired, Poignant and Emotional.

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I received this book "Dancing With The Sun" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. This book started out slow for me and took me a while to be interested in the storyline. The story picked up though when they got lost. It seems like everyone has rated it high but I just I found the book okay.

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In Dancing With The Sun, Kay Bratt captures a mother-daughter relationship with an authenticity rarely seen in novels. Highly emotional, heartfelt, and bristling with tension on every page, this is a story not easily forgotten.

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My first book written by Kay Bratt and it won't be my last. Such a great adventure story along with such a great depiction of family dynamics. I cried, which is a good sign that I got involved with the characters and their story, that is what I want to do! A story of realization, however late is comes and the ability to change going forward. Thank you to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

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I read the entire book in one sitting and cannot even begin to put into words how deeply it touched it me. It evoked memories from years ago and opened my eyes to recognize the needs and the strengths of my own children. This is another Bratt book not to be missed!

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Kay Bratt weaves a truly wonderful story of family dynamics. What you see on the surface does not always depict what one is feeling! Characters are realistic and believable. I could not wait to turn each page to see what happened. The book evokes so many emotions....fright, sadness, joy, and tears. . It is a very fast read and one I would highly recommend. I just loved it!

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This was a quick story! It started just the tiniest bit off, I think Sadie was bothering me. I thought all the characters were believable. I loved the book!!! It was so very good!!!

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Dancing With The Sun is a book to savor, remember and read again. The story is heartfelt, beautifully written, and emotionally moving.

Sadie suffered from empty nest syndrome and a failing marriage. She also stopped truly living life the day her son Jacob died. And, although Sadie loved her adoptive daughter, Lauren, Sadie’s buried grief over her lost son, clouded that relationship. When her daughter, Lauren, traveled across the country to go to college, Sadie worked extra shifts to bury her loneliness. Tom, Sadie’s husband, spent less time at home than ever before. He worked long hours at the office, and often left for weekend trips, alone.

When many of Tom’s belongings and his favorite slippers were missing from the house, Sadie figured that her husband had found someone else. She didn’t blame him really. It was just another painful loss for her to bear. Sadie decided to visit her daughter in California. She wanted to break the news to Lauren gently so that when the changes occurred in the family, it wouldn’t be a complete surprise to Lauren.

Although Sadie wasn’t keen on hiking in Yosemite National Park, she allowed Lauren to lead the way. It was while they were lost in the wilderness that Sadie faced her unresolved grief, failures, and regrets; and found forgiveness and healing, for her soul.

Kay Bratt brought the book alive for me with vivid wilderness scenes, rich character development, and raw emotion. I loved every page of this heartwrenching, compelling and touching novel.

Thank you, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley, for my advanced review copy.

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The most painful goodbyes are the ones left unspoken, and especially, the ones left unanswered.

Sadie Harlan now moves about her life with leadened feet. Even years after the accident, she has never come to terms with the loss of her young son, Jacob. Every breath taken in and released is a struggle.......an emotional burden that she can't seem to put down. Like so many of us, engulfing grief is self-interpreted as a means to honor the dead.

Even a long-standing marriage can suffer under the weight of a shared loss. Silence seems to cover the pain. Burrowing down becomes a protective mechanism at quite the cost. Sadie's husband, Tom, now takes to the road. His fishing cabin becomes his sanctuary.

After days of hibernating, Sadie decides to visit their daughter, Lauren, at college in California. No phone call. Just show up. Lauren encourages her mother to take a short hike with her in Yosemite National Park. Just to the lake and back. No pressure. Just fresh air and movement.

Both mother and daughter are ill-prepared for what awaits them. Unexpected challenges will elbow up and faulty decisions will cause weakened responses at half-mast. Putting one foot in front of the other on a daily basis in grief is quite the undertaking. Magnify that with contending with the brutality of Mother Nature under befuddled circumstances.

Kay Bratt presents a mother/daughter day of reckoning. She provides just enough backstories to set the tone and to establish the "how-did-we-ever-get-to-this-point" underpinings. The sharp ended dialogue reveals how life has moved on for one, but not for the other.

Bratt's storyline, at times, hovers over the concept of "heartwarming". The final chapters seem to wrap up with tightly drawn string. That's never the case for many suffering loss out there. But, perhaps, Bratt's open and honest revisiting pain can be a source of release for many readers. You can never heal what you don't acknowledge..........

I received a copy of Dancing with the Sun through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to Kay Bratt for the opportunity.

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This was a great read! It was one of those books that I did not want to put down. I thought the author did a great job with the two main characters - Sadie (mom) and Lauren (daughter) - I really got a very clear picture of their relationship. Sadie wants Lauren to have the perfect life, so much so that she has basically scripted it for her - from which hobbies she had as a kid to what she is going to study in college. Lauren is the typical teenage daughter with her own interests, trying to find her own way. Getting lost in Yosemite gives them an opportunity to really talk and be honest with one another. I really loved how the story developed both with their struggles in Yosemite as well as how the reader slowly learns more about the loss of Sadie's first child and how it's impacted Sadie and her family.

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It was supposed to be a wonderful reunion of mother and daughter at Yosemite National Park, but it turns into a nightmare. Sadie Harlan is visiting her daughter, Lauren, who’s working at the venerable park when the two decide to take a quick day hike. Instead of catching up, they find themselves battling nature. Looking for water and food and fighting off weather and predators, the women must find a way to survive. Complicating matters is Sadie’s trouble past and her inability to move forward after a tragedy, something she will clearly have to do now if she and her daughter are to make it home alive. It’s nice to read a story about women fighting against nature instead of a predatory stalker or serial killer, and the setting is amazing

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I just finished Dancing With The Sun! My head and heart are full of emotion. The story of the Harlan family will be with me for a long time to come. The author captures the readers attention immediately and never lets it go. This is a story of family bonds, loss grief, heartache and healing. The ebb and flow of life. We must look toward the Sun and follow the light. I have found a new author to Love! This book will stir up your emotions and then some! #NetGalley

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What an emotional roller coaster of a book! Sadie has closed herself off from her husband and her daughter after the death of her son. When she comes to the conclusion her husband is having an affair, she goes to see her daughter at college. Sadie and Lauren decide to go hiking and get lost in Yosemite National Park. They end up lost and have to fight for their survival. It is such a traumatic experience and they must work together to survive. I cried many times while reading this book. The characters are real and flawed. This is a book I read in one day as I couldn't put it down. I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing. All opinions are my own.

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Dancing with the Sun by Kay Bratt is a very emotional book. Right from page one I was drawn in and I could not put this book down. I laughed I cried and I felt all the emotions of this book. Kay writes a beautiful story about a mother and daughter relationship, midlife crisis, grief, empty nest syndrome, lack of communication. This book is a journey of self-discovery, learning to learn to live with grief and moving forward being thankful for what you have in your life. Kay has such a way to write from her heart and touch your heart. You will not be disappointed in this book. Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union for the advanced copy of this book.

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What an incredible life journey! As I read I laughed, I cried, I cheered and I prayered for the beautiful characters of mother, broken but loving and daughter, confused but loving. As the mother of child lost too soon I identified with the broken spirit of Sadie and the ability to build a wall to protect one’s heart. Yet the ability to love the children that came after is so strong it does help to soften those walls. Lauren’s curiosity about the brother she never knew and her questions about her past were brought to life in such a way that the emotions were felt by the reader!
Kay Bratt’s ability to bring those details and emotions right off the page and into your live is truly a gift. Thank you for sharing that gift with readers like myself!

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An emotional and uplifting story!

While ostensibly a story of a mother and daughter lost in the Yosemite wilderness, it's more about deeper issues: grief, adoption, dealing with past mistakes and empty nest syndrome. The mother has to deal with these issues, while simultaneously struggling to keep herself and her daughter alive. Along the way, and with her daughter's help, she also travels a journey of self-discovery, learning some uncomfortable truths about herself, yet also learning how to move forward. And learning to be grateful for what she's been given, instead of simply grieving about what she's lost. I have loved everything I've read by this author and this book is no exception!

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union for the advanced copy of this book!

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I absolutely loved this book!! It is written with such a profound understanding of a mothers all consuming grief over the loss of her child. This book is about so much more than grief though. It is a story of survival in the wilderness. It is about the unbreakable bond between a mother and her children. It is heartfelt and at times, heartbreaking. It brought me to tears on several occasions. It is such a descriptive novel and I was there in the wild of Yosemite with Sadie and her adopted daughter, Lauren. I could taste their fear at times. The characters are richly developed and I felt like I knew them. This is a beautiful book and it should be a reminder to us all to live life to the fullest and keep dancing in the Sun. I highly recommend this book! Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union publishers for a copy of this book for review consideration.

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Years ago, Sadie Harlan's son, Jacob, died in a tragic accident while on a fishing trip with his Dad, Tom. Despite trying to live a happy life for her husband and their adopted daughter, Lauren, Sadie has lived a half-life because of her grief. She and Tom still share a life, but much of it is separate, and Lauren has left the nest for college, and Sadie's isolation has become claustrophobic.

One particular day, Sadie discovers that several articles of Tom's clothes are missing, including his favorite bedroom slippers. With Tom on yet another camping trip, she is unable to confront him with her suspicions. Is Tom having an affair?

Having convinced herself that Tom has moved on, Sadie hops the first plane to California to tell Lauren that their lives are about to change and that she is leaving Tom. Lauren picks Sadie up from the airport excited to share news of her own, but only after they take a short hike in the Yosemite.

Despite her hesitation, Sadie agrees, wanting to make happy memories on this day before she ends her marriage. However, one wrong turn off the path leaves the ladies lost in the Yosemite with little on their persons in the means of survival.

This novel is fraught is filled with emotions as Sadie and Lauren attempt to find their way back to civilization, tired, exhausted, and injured. But, throughout their journey, this beautiful emotional journey, Lauren finds a way to help Sadie rediscover the life that she lost...and for her to realize that not all was lost on that tragic day.

And, just when all hope seemed lost, love finds a way.

I highly recommend this book and I look forward to reading other titles by this author.

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Dancing with the Sun had me on the edge of my seat wit the action....when I wasn't being moved by the touching struggle of a mother trying to become her own person again.
This was a book that I walked around with my nose in and ended up reading in one day! I was just bewitched by the story!
What a gift Kay Bratt has, to pull you into her story and bring your emotions to so many levels!
The writing is stellar, plot over the top and characters full and rich.
A must read! An absolute 5 stars rating!I

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

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