Trees With Deeper Roots by Bonny C. Millard

About the book

This novel is the story of a mother and daughter who are separated at birth by adoption and told from both of their perspectives.

Katie McPherson now grown, discovers her adoption and seeks out her mother, Mimi DuPree. Both women come from entirely different worlds. Mimi migrated to the United States from France when she was only nineteen years old and made New York City her home. She had no family after her mother died. Katie, on the other hand, grew up on a quiet farm in Southwest Virginia surrounded by loving family members, who treasured her. It is only after her father dies that she learns of her adoption. Her adoptive mother is also deceased.

Katie naively believes that she and Mimi can start a relationship as soon as they meet, but Mimi is reserved and unwilling to share her feelings with the young woman. Mimi's past keeps her from reaching out to her daughter. Betrayed and hurt by Katie's father, Jonathan, and his family, she is left all alone in the world with a baby on the way. His death in Vietnam a few months later seals the fate for the two women.

Several years after losing one child to adoption, Mimi tragically loses a second daughter in a fatal car accident. These two incidents cause her to insulate herself against the world and the pain it has cost her. With the painful past threatening her world, she increasingly throws herself into her business, effectively pushing Katie further away. Mimi wants to develop a close bond with her daughter but is afraid of the hurt that comes from loving someone. She also cannot bring herself to share the secret of Christy's death, which almost unravels the fragile bond they have developed.

Katie senses rejection for the first time and is not prepared for the emotional roller coaster it sends her on. Thinking her mother doesn't want a relationship with her, Katie determines to find her own life with or without her mother. A homeless man, who befriended Mimi years earlier, provides a source of friendship and support to Katie.

She pursues her artistic abilities while continuing to try and forge a relationship with Mimi. It is in her paintings that she charts the course her life will take. just as Mimi and Katie appear to be making progress in their relationship, Katie discovers Mimi's secret. She confronts her mother and then storms out of her life.

Through the love and patience of her family in Southwest Virginia, Katie understands that she has to accept Mimi for who she is and not for whom Katie wants her to be. Katie returns to New York to decide if she and Mimi can have a relationship but also to participate in her first art show.

Herman reveals that he was with Jonathan when he was killed in the land mine explosion and made a promise to the dying man to watch over Mimi. This pledge extends to Katie.

At the art show, her family and friends gather to support Katie, and she realizes that she has to make her own happiness and not look for someone else to give it to her. Upon Katie's return to New York, Mimi understands there are no more chances if she doesn't open her heart to Katie, and the only way to truly love someone is to open her heart.

About the author

My interest in writing came at an early age. I've always loved to read, and it didn't take long for the writing call to come. A friend of mine introduced me to the novels of the late Pearl S. Buck and that was all it took. I loved her novels, and I thought that if I could ever write something that someone would enjoy as much, then it would be pure magic. I have since discovered that it is the writing that is the pure magic.

My training ground as a writer was as a newspaper reporter. I have a bachelor of science in Communications, Journalism major, and a bachelor of arts in Liberal Arts, Political Science major both from the University of Tennessee. Upon receiving my communications degree, I interned in Washington, D.C. for a couple of months. No not that kind and not at the White House! After returning to my native East Tennessee, I worked at a daily newspaper, the Bristol Herald Courier in Bristol Virginia, for almost seven years. During my tenure at the paper, I won a couple of Virginia Press Association awards in the areas of investigative reporting and lifestyle writing.

In 1993, I moved to Columbia, SC and developed the victim services program with one of the state's largest law enforcement agencies. Late last year, I accepted my current position as State Victim/Witness Assistance Coordinator with the SC Commission on Prosecution Coordination.

My first novel is Trees With Deeper Roots, and I am at work on my second, Southern Yard Art. I have also written several short stories. I am currently serving my second term as president of South Carolina Writers Workshop, a non-profit writers group dedicated to promoting writers and writing in our state.

I live in Columbia, SC with two cats and two dogs.