Before We Arrived: A Soulful Literary Novel of Grief, Healing, and Unexpected Connections

Healing Isn’t a Straight Line — It’s a Shared Journey.

In the summer of 2005 Henry Carter, a Black landscape designer, is mired in a dismal fog in the wake of a family tragedy. He needs to find the missing pieces of his shattered self and reluctantly accepts a job working with rescued farm animals.

Rivka Solomon, a restless Jewish social worker, runs the animal sanctuary and has her own trauma-filled history. She plows through life taking care of everyone around her while longing for safety and solace for herself.

Enter Jayce King, an Indigenous American archaeologist who has endured numerous losses and is determined to navigate each day without disturbing the status quo. He remains guarded, knowing he cannot bear another catastrophe.

As each struggles to emerge from a painful past, they embark on intersecting journeys in New England to the Finger Lakes, New York City, Eastern Canada, and war-torn Vietnam searching for peace, meaning, and joy amid the rubble of personal and ancestral trauma.

Lush, moving, and deeply human, Before We Arrived is a celebration of resilience, found family, and love in its many forms. Fans of James McBride and Lily King will feel right at home.