The April Tree

Reach out, hold tight, stand up, move forward.brbrLearning that life goes on is the hardest lesson of all.brbrOne life destroyed. Four others irrevocably shattered. Overcoming the shock and grief of death is an all-too-familiar rite of young adulthood.brbrWalking home from a tennis game on a bright spring day, April Walden's three closest friends watch in horror as she is struck by a car and killed. The senseless accident plunges all three young women-and the car's driver-into a devastating and often misguided search for comfort, purpose, and inspiration.brbrBecky wraps herself in a protective cloak of obsessions, performing anxious rituals at the base of the red maple tree under which April died. Elyse dives into a high-risk party life, trying to honor April by experiencing everything April missed but mistaking self-destructive indulgence for courage. Florie turns to fundamentalist Christianity, not as spiritual guidance, but as a wall that might shield her from reality. Mark, the driver, spirals downward into substance abuse and self-loathing, until April's three friends reach out to save him.brbrHow do you make it through the night when you've stopped believing that tomorrow always comes?