Marsha, a widowed mother shattered by the sudden loss of her only daughter, lives each day in silence and routine—until a strange detour sign appears one morning, leading her off-course and into the forgotten town of Sweetwater. What starts as a simple roadblock becomes a soulful, surreal journey through memory, grief, and quiet revelation. In Sweetwater, time doesn't follow rules. Radios speak without sound. Strangers seem to know Marsha's secrets. And in the shadows of abandoned places, echoes of her daughter's love still linger. As Marsha confronts the guilt and sorrow she's carried alone, she discovers that healing doesn't always come in a straight line—and that some goodbyes aren't as final as they seem. Detour is a poetic, emotionally raw novel that weaves magical realism with grounded truth and spiritual depth. For readers of Tayari Jones, Jesmyn Ward, and Mitch Albom, this story is a quiet reckoning—a map for the brokenhearted, and a reminder that the long way home may be the only way forward.
