The Shade Under the Mango Tree

Gold Medal, Contemporary Fiction, 2021 Global Book Awards (formerly New York City Book Awards) Finalist, Multicultural Fiction, 2021 International Book Awards After two heartbreaking losses, Luna wants adventure. Something and somewhere very different from the affluent, sheltered home in California and Hawaii where she grew up. An adventure in which she can also make some difference. Lucien, a worldly, well-traveled young architect, finds a stranger's journal at a café. Though he has qualms and pangs of guilt about reading it, they don't stop him. His decision changes his life forever. Months later, they meet at a bookstore. Fascinated by his stories and adventurous spirit, Luna goes on a Peace Corps stint to a rural rice-growing village in Cambodia. There, she finds a world steeped in ancient culture and the lasting ravages of a deadly history. Will she leave this world unscathed? An epistolary tale of courage, resilience, and the bonds that bring diverse people together.