Tessa's Heart

Haunted by secrets and spirits, a Texas girl dances through dysfunction to find her voice.

In the wildflower-strewn town of 1950s Yoakum, Texas, nine-year-old Tessa Carter is caught between two forces: her beauty-obsessed mother who longs for escape, and her fiercely religious grandmother who clutches family shame like pearls. What neither woman understands is that Tessa sees more than they know-ancestral ghosts, memories stitched into silver trays, and a father-shaped absence that cracks her spirit wide open.

Tessa doesn't speak much-but she dances. Each wild movement is a rebellion against silence, a language of longing and strength. As she is pulled deeper into a supernatural dialogue with her great-grandmother Eunice and eccentric great-aunt Gertie, Tessa discovers stories long buried and women long ignored. She begins to question not only her place in this matriarchal maze, but whether she can forge a future unbound by inherited shame.

A Southern Gothic coming-of-age tale woven with humor, heartbreak, and fierce tenderness, Tessa's Heart explores what happens when the past refuses to stay buried-and a girl refuses to stay quiet. With prose both lyrical and unflinching, Jackie Lewis brings readers a story of defiant magic, ancestral voices, and the unshakable resilience of one unforgettable girl.

For readers of The Secret Life of Bees and The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Tessa's Heart is a lush and lyrical Southern tale of ghosts, grit, and girlhood. Jackie Lewis delivers a novel that lingers-long after the dancing stops.

"An engaging story that speaks volumes..."- Winner in the WOMEN'S ISSUES category of the 2024 IndieReader Discovery Awards

"Funny, poignant, sad, and exhilarating..." - An Honorable Mention from the Eric Hoffer Award.

"A compelling, unpredictable, and poignant story ..." - Kirkus Reviews