The Bird House by Kelly Simmons

One of the joys of being an author is that publishers send us books in hopes that we will fall in love and offer a blurb. But the irony of being a published author is that I have less time to read for pleasure than I used to. When I am really heavy into my work, I simply can't. It throws me off my story, and frankly, by the time I shut down for the evening, I barely have enough brain power left to find the remote and turn on the TV. However, when I'm on a break from my book or traveling somewhere, I try to read as much as I can.

This fall I was flying to Toronto for the International Festival of Authors and I started to read a galley of a fantastic book called The Bird House by Kelly Simmons. I was so impressed, I read most of the book on that flight. The Bird House was just released today. So if you're looking for your next great read, give this one a try.

THE BIRD HOUSE is told from the perspective of one woman, Ann Biddle, during two different times in her life—the present day when she’s seventy and struggling against the slow slide of Alzheimer’s and during the early 1960s when she is a young mother. Replete with flawed, yet genuine, characters and compelling dialogue, it centers on the relationship that slowly grows between Ann and her eight-year-old granddaughter and the long-buried secrets that rise to the surface as they rediscover the past and uncover the present.


Every family has its secrets. But when you are the last survivor tending the dark fires of memory, and your own mind is fading, who do you dare share them with? Your diary…or your eight-year-old granddaughter?

Young Ellie’s bond with her feisty grandmother leads them on a journey that is fraught with risk, as secrets threaten to overwhelm their growing rapport. But when Ellie unknowingly sheds a burst of light on Ann’s shadowy past, it also becomes a journey filled with love, understanding, and healing.