The Burning Side

When a fire destroys April and Leo’s home in the middle of the night, they escape with their two young children—but the damage goes far beyond what was lost in the flames.

Seeking refuge, they return to April’s childhood home in Dallas, where family brings both comfort and complication. As the aftermath unfolds, long-suppressed tensions in their marriage rise to the surface, forcing them to confront grief, guilt, and the quiet fractures that have been building for years.

Told through multiple perspectives—including April, overwhelmed by the demands of motherhood; Leo, shaped by a difficult past; and Deb, April’s steady yet strained mother facing her husband’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis—the story traces how the couple arrived at this breaking point.

Spanning past and present, this emotional novel explores love, memory, forgiveness, and the meaning of home, revealing how families are shaped by both what they endure and what they choose to become.