Love at the Center of Grief

Love at the Center of Grief is a contemporary The Notebook for grieving teens who want to believe in the power of love even when faced with The Fault in Our Stars. If only they knew how.

For Gretchen Gardener and Hayden Tucker, Summerfort Grief Center, nestled near Branson, Missouri, offers a place to hope. At the tender age of six, they both endured the losses of their mothers. As children, they bonded as friends, but when puberty hit romantic crushes developed. Shyness has them doubting every emotion.

Who will break the silence-build courage-admit they care?

Summerfort High School awaits this year. Hayden wears Summerfort Eagles' jerseys, but not everyone on the team accepts this robust loner due to his sensitive nature. Gretchen's a blend of childish maturity, spouting off unique words, and Constitutional factoids. Neither of those talents solves her obsessive behavior at hoarding odd memories.

Love at the Center of Grief overflows with equal parts, heartache, and laughter. Gretchen and Hayden navigate adolescence with hefty layers of grief and widowed dads in tow. Raw, honest emotions pour into the pages of grief diaries written to their mothers. They explain through detailed stories how grief factors into everything.