From the author of The Brighter the Light comes the moving story about one woman's reason for leaving home and the love that brings her back. When Olympia leaves her small Virginia town, she doesn't expect to look back, much less ever come home. But after a year on the road, her sister's engagement pulls Olympia into everything she left behind: her family, her husband, and the grief she's been trying to forget. She's determined to stay a few days, maybe a week--just enough time to visit gravestones and sign off on the divorce her husband, Spencer, asked for. But he's reeling from their shared loss, as well as complications with his aging parents, leaving his heart just as fragile as Olympia's. The more time they spend in each other's orbit, the less sure they are they'll be able to walk away for good. As family secrets come to light and family bonds stretch to the breaking point, Olympia must decide where she's going next and where she belongs. She's used to coping with life's complications alone, but maybe the best way to heal is together.
Mary Ellen Taylor Book order
Mary Ellen Taylor's contemporary women's fiction is deeply rooted in her love for Virginia and its history, with protagonists who embark on journeys of self-discovery. Her characters navigate themes of family, home, and belonging, their personal narratives intricately woven with the settings, often uncovering mysteries both past and present. Drawing from a family steeped in storytelling, Taylor transitioned from a marketing career to embrace her passion for writing, recognizing the profound power narratives hold to connect people through shared emotions. Alongside her writing, she finds creative parallels in cooking and baking, viewing both as essential crafts that require mastering fundamental techniques before allowing for innovative expression.







- 2024
- 2023
When the Rain Ends
- 335 pages
- 12 hours of reading
From The Brighter the Light author Mary Ellen Taylor comes the emotional story of a mother and daughter learning to endure life's twists and turns as they grieve a loss and face an uncertain future. When artist Dani Peterson learns she's slowly losing her vision, she becomes unmoored. Her ex-husband died only months before, leaving Dani and her preteen daughter grief stricken. Suddenly, the life Dani built for her family on the Outer Banks feels like a painful reminder of all they've lost. On a whim, Dani sells her waterfront home and buys an old farm inland near the Virginia state line. But Dani's daughter recoils at the sudden, drastic change. The Outer Banks' sun-swept beaches, pink dawns, and savage storms are all she's ever known. But Dani is resolute, and the pair move to Virginia to embark on a challenging renovation. That summer, their efforts to turn a run-down silo into an art studio bring forth new friends, new loves, and new challenges. As mother and daughter navigate the fiercest storm of their lives, they learn that instead of waiting for the skies to clear, they can withstand the wind and rain, so long as they do it together.
- 2022
The Brighter the Light
- 363 pages
- 13 hours of reading
From the bestselling author of Honeysuckle Season comes an evocative dual-timeline novel detailing one woman's journey to discover the hidden stories of her family's seaside resort. When a shipwreck surfaces, old secrets are sure to follow. Or so goes the lore in Ivy Neale's hometown of Nags Head, North Carolina. When Ivy inherits her family's beachfront cottage upon her grandmother's death, she knows returning to Nags Head means facing the best friend and the boyfriend who betrayed her years ago. But then a winter gale uncovers the shipwreck of local legend--and Ivy soon begins to stumble across more skeletons in the closet than just her own. Amid the cottage's clutter are clues from her grandmother's past at the enchanting seaside resort her family once owned. One fateful summer in 1950, the arrival of a dazzling singer shook the staff and guests alike--and not everyone made it to fall. As Ivy contends with broken relationships and a burgeoning romance in the present, the past threatens to sweep her away. But as she uncovers the strength of her grandmother and the women who came before her, she realizes she is like the legendary shipwreck: the sands may shift around her, but she has found her home here by the sea.
- 2021
The Words We Whisper
- 351 pages
- 13 hours of reading
From the bestselling author of Honeysuckle Season comes a sweeping saga that interweaves the past and present in an epic tapestry of love, war, and loss. As a hospice nurse, Zara Mitchell has already seen more death than most people will experience in a lifetime. So when her older sister asks her to help care for their ailing grandmother, Zara agrees--despite strained family relationships. Though pale and tired, Nonna has lost none of her sharp mind. She's fixated on finding something long forgotten, and she immediately puts Zara to work cleaning out the attic. Unexpectedly, amid the tedium of sifting through knickknacks and heirlooms, Zara also reconnects with a man she's attracted to but whose complicated past makes romance seem impossible. But then Zara finds what Nonna was looking for: a wooden chest, an emerald broach, a leather-bound journal. As she immerses herself in stories of heroism and loss set against the backdrop of war-torn Italy in 1943, Zara finds answers to questions she didn't know she had. And they change everything she thinks she knows about love, regret, and seizing the day.
- 2015
Maniac Magee
An Instructional Guide for Literature : An Instructional Guide for Literature
- 74 pages
- 3 hours of reading
Engage students in a deep analysis of a Newbery Medal-winning novel with a comprehensive instructional guide. This resource offers a variety of research-based activities designed to enhance literacy skills, including close reading tasks, vocabulary practice, and cross-curricular connections. It features text-dependent questions, reader response prompts, and assessments tailored to various comprehension levels. By incorporating these engaging activities, educators can effectively strengthen students' understanding and appreciation of complex literature.