The arrival of this soft-spoken American, a Vietnam War resister, will test the morals and beliefs of the Ward family and their close-knit community. Like her mother, Natalie believes their lives are blessed, as rich and as sweet as the fresh milk that is their livelihood.Įverything changes one hot July afternoon in 1966 when a long-haired stranger walks up the winding dirt road to their door. She adores her three brothers, especially the eldest, Boyer, whom she idolizes with a childlike worship. Natalie cherishes her position as the only daughter of the beautiful Nettie Ward-the pride of the Catholic Ladies Auxiliary-and the town's milkman, Gus Ward-the darling of Atwood housewives.

Friends and neighbors, young and old alike, show up regularly on their farmhouse porch-all willing to share in the never-ending daily chores in exchange for a place at the Ward family table.

A family so close and loving that they are the envy of the nearby town of Atwood. Growing up on a dairy farm in the mountains of British Columbia less than two miles from the American border, she knows little of the outside world. Read with tenderness and verve by Patricia Rodriguez, this audiobook will appeal to women of all ages.He will change their lives forever.Īt fifteen, Natalie Ward believes her life is perfect. The series of events following that summer day would leave relationships shattered and the Ward family changed forever.Ī truly compelling writer that has been compared to Anita Shreve, Donna Milner has delivered not just a love story, but a poignant and deeply moving account of how war and conflict can devastate lives across generations. The arrival of a soft-spoken stranger, an American draft-dodger called River, would test the morals and beliefs of the family and the community to the breaking point. But she had her family - a family so close and loving that Natalie believed they were the envy of the nearby town of Atwood, particularly her eldest brother, Boyer, whom Natalie held especially close to her heart.īut Natalie began to question her family's idyllic existence the summer she turned 15. Growing up on a dairy farm in the mountains of British Columbia in the 1960s, three kilometres north of the American border, Natalie Ward knew little of the outside world.

River donna milner