TOWARD BRIGHT STARS
Toward Bright Stars is the romantic telling of abuse survivor Delanie Dane’s meeting and eventual search for the mysterious, intelligent, and flawed Ben “Atlas” McCollum and her fascinating attachment to her soul mate Hal --all while ironically dating Thom, an uninteresting and bland model of male perfection.
In this novel, 20-something Delanie Dane has physically left the abuse of her childhood home, but the damage to her psyche is evident as she is determined to heal from trauma and realize self-actualization as she creates “a family” with her best friend Sonya and her older mother-figure roommate who is involved in the recovery community with a man of color. Through spirituality, determination, and destiny, Delanie leaves insufficient and degrading jobs and forges challenges in careers in journalism and eventually teaching.
Set in the late 1980s and early 1990s in Northeastern Ohio, the reader experiences the social and political climate of the times when Delanie’s strong feminine character witnesses racial imbalances, a difficult job market, touching financial struggles, the world of alcoholism and recovery, and the challenges of platonic and romantic love.
Full of literary allusions and parallels to the ancient Greeks, popular music, and pop culture, the novel is full of quirky, realistic, and amusing characters who add dimension.
Toward Bright Stars can be read before or after Living in a Dark House. Darla K. Landers’ witty, realistic, and heartwarming writing style will lasso you to also aim Toward Bright Stars.
Semi-autobiographical, the novel draws from the author’s experiences and observations as a woman who fought for her own education, discovered true love, and navigated the world of work.
Living in a Dark House
by Darla K. Landers
Although distinctly grounded in gritty Akron, Ohio, during the height and then the fall of the rubber industry, there is a mystical element in this novel that was written memoir style. Delanie Daye, with feet firmly planted on the earth, is a smart, hardworking girl who harbors a dark secret. She appears happy, funny, and carefree, but close friends catch glimpses into the “dark house” of life with Jim Dandy, her abusive and deranged father. On a quest for self-actualization, freedom, fulfillment, spirituality, and education, Delanie is transformed by the many unsuspecting, uncanny, and magical relationships that shape and carry her. With allusions to pop culture, music, literature, and the recent history of the 1980s, Delanie tells her story with heart, humor, and guts. Come along for the ride!
I really enjoyed reading this novel. The author has a natural talent for writing and the characters come alive. The story held my attention and I finished it in just a few days. I had such compassion for Delanie, that sometimes it was difficult to read her struggles but was very glad the book ended on a happier note. It was interesting to read about many familiar places in the Akron area and songs and events that I grew up with too. This novel will be enjoyed by many
Amazon Customer
What an excellent novel! It created so much emotion for me. I couldn’t put the book down. Strongly recommend.
Amazon Customer
