In Dancing With The Sun, Kay Bratt captures a mother-daughter relationship with an authenticity rarely seen in novels. Highly emotional, heartfelt, and bristling with tension on every page, this is a story not easily forgotten.

My first book written by Kay Bratt and it won't be my last. Such a great adventure story along with such a great depiction of family dynamics. I cried, which is a good sign that I got involved with the characters and their story, that is what I want to do! A story of realization, however late is comes and the ability to change going forward. Thank you to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

I read the entire book in one sitting and cannot even begin to put into words how deeply it touched it me. It evoked memories from years ago and opened my eyes to recognize the needs and the strengths of my own children. This is another Bratt book not to be missed!

Kay Bratt weaves a truly wonderful story of family dynamics. What you see on the surface does not always depict what one is feeling! Characters are realistic and believable. I could not wait to turn each page to see what happened. The book evokes so many emotions....fright, sadness, joy, and tears. . It is a very fast read and one I would highly recommend. I just loved it!

This was a quick story! It started just the tiniest bit off, I think Sadie was bothering me. I thought all the characters were believable. I loved the book!!! It was so very good!!!

The most painful goodbyes are the ones left unspoken, and especially, the ones left unanswered.

Sadie Harlan now moves about her life with leadened feet. Even years after the accident, she has never come to terms with the loss of her young son, Jacob. Every breath taken in and released is a struggle.......an emotional burden that she can't seem to put down. Like so many of us, engulfing grief is self-interpreted as a means to honor the dead.

Even a long-standing marriage can suffer under the weight of a shared loss. Silence seems to cover the pain. Burrowing down becomes a protective mechanism at quite the cost. Sadie's husband, Tom, now takes to the road. His fishing cabin becomes his sanctuary.

After days of hibernating, Sadie decides to visit their daughter, Lauren, at college in California. No phone call. Just show up. Lauren encourages her mother to take a short hike with her in Yosemite National Park. Just to the lake and back. No pressure. Just fresh air and movement.

Both mother and daughter are ill-prepared for what awaits them. Unexpected challenges will elbow up and faulty decisions will cause weakened responses at half-mast. Putting one foot in front of the other on a daily basis in grief is quite the undertaking. Magnify that with contending with the brutality of Mother Nature under befuddled circumstances.

Kay Bratt presents a mother/daughter day of reckoning. She provides just enough backstories to set the tone and to establish the "how-did-we-ever-get-to-this-point" underpinings. The sharp ended dialogue reveals how life has moved on for one, but not for the other.

Bratt's storyline, at times, hovers over the concept of "heartwarming". The final chapters seem to wrap up with tightly drawn string. That's never the case for many suffering loss out there. But, perhaps, Bratt's open and honest revisiting pain can be a source of release for many readers. You can never heal what you don't acknowledge..........

I received a copy of Dancing with the Sun through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to Kay Bratt for the opportunity.

This was a great read! It was one of those books that I did not want to put down. I thought the author did a great job with the two main characters - Sadie (mom) and Lauren (daughter) - I really got a very clear picture of their relationship. Sadie wants Lauren to have the perfect life, so much so that she has basically scripted it for her - from which hobbies she had as a kid to what she is going to study in college. Lauren is the typical teenage daughter with her own interests, trying to find her own way. Getting lost in Yosemite gives them an opportunity to really talk and be honest with one another. I really loved how the story developed both with their struggles in Yosemite as well as how the reader slowly learns more about the loss of Sadie's first child and how it's impacted Sadie and her family.

It was supposed to be a wonderful reunion of mother and daughter at Yosemite National Park, but it turns into a nightmare. Sadie Harlan is visiting her daughter, Lauren, who’s working at the venerable park when the two decide to take a quick day hike. Instead of catching up, they find themselves battling nature. Looking for water and food and fighting off weather and predators, the women must find a way to survive. Complicating matters is Sadie’s trouble past and her inability to move forward after a tragedy, something she will clearly have to do now if she and her daughter are to make it home alive. It’s nice to read a story about women fighting against nature instead of a predatory stalker or serial killer, and the setting is amazing

I just finished Dancing With The Sun! My head and heart are full of emotion. The story of the Harlan family will be with me for a long time to come. The author captures the readers attention immediately and never lets it go. This is a story of family bonds, loss grief, heartache and healing. The ebb and flow of life. We must look toward the Sun and follow the light. I have found a new author to Love! This book will stir up your emotions and then some! #NetGalley

What an emotional roller coaster of a book! Sadie has closed herself off from her husband and her daughter after the death of her son. When she comes to the conclusion her husband is having an affair, she goes to see her daughter at college. Sadie and Lauren decide to go hiking and get lost in Yosemite National Park. They end up lost and have to fight for their survival. It is such a traumatic experience and they must work together to survive. I cried many times while reading this book. The characters are real and flawed. This is a book I read in one day as I couldn't put it down. I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing. All opinions are my own.

Dancing with the Sun by Kay Bratt is a very emotional book. Right from page one I was drawn in and I could not put this book down. I laughed I cried and I felt all the emotions of this book. Kay writes a beautiful story about a mother and daughter relationship, midlife crisis, grief, empty nest syndrome, lack of communication. This book is a journey of self-discovery, learning to learn to live with grief and moving forward being thankful for what you have in your life. Kay has such a way to write from her heart and touch your heart. You will not be disappointed in this book. Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union for the advanced copy of this book.

What an incredible life journey! As I read I laughed, I cried, I cheered and I prayered for the beautiful characters of mother, broken but loving and daughter, confused but loving. As the mother of child lost too soon I identified with the broken spirit of Sadie and the ability to build a wall to protect one’s heart. Yet the ability to love the children that came after is so strong it does help to soften those walls. Lauren’s curiosity about the brother she never knew and her questions about her past were brought to life in such a way that the emotions were felt by the reader!
Kay Bratt’s ability to bring those details and emotions right off the page and into your live is truly a gift. Thank you for sharing that gift with readers like myself!

An emotional and uplifting story!

While ostensibly a story of a mother and daughter lost in the Yosemite wilderness, it's more about deeper issues: grief, adoption, dealing with past mistakes and empty nest syndrome. The mother has to deal with these issues, while simultaneously struggling to keep herself and her daughter alive. Along the way, and with her daughter's help, she also travels a journey of self-discovery, learning some uncomfortable truths about herself, yet also learning how to move forward. And learning to be grateful for what she's been given, instead of simply grieving about what she's lost. I have loved everything I've read by this author and this book is no exception!

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union for the advanced copy of this book!

I absolutely loved this book!! It is written with such a profound understanding of a mothers all consuming grief over the loss of her child. This book is about so much more than grief though. It is a story of survival in the wilderness. It is about the unbreakable bond between a mother and her children. It is heartfelt and at times, heartbreaking. It brought me to tears on several occasions. It is such a descriptive novel and I was there in the wild of Yosemite with Sadie and her adopted daughter, Lauren. I could taste their fear at times. The characters are richly developed and I felt like I knew them. This is a beautiful book and it should be a reminder to us all to live life to the fullest and keep dancing in the Sun. I highly recommend this book! Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union publishers for a copy of this book for review consideration.

Years ago, Sadie Harlan's son, Jacob, died in a tragic accident while on a fishing trip with his Dad, Tom. Despite trying to live a happy life for her husband and their adopted daughter, Lauren, Sadie has lived a half-life because of her grief. She and Tom still share a life, but much of it is separate, and Lauren has left the nest for college, and Sadie's isolation has become claustrophobic.

One particular day, Sadie discovers that several articles of Tom's clothes are missing, including his favorite bedroom slippers. With Tom on yet another camping trip, she is unable to confront him with her suspicions. Is Tom having an affair?

Having convinced herself that Tom has moved on, Sadie hops the first plane to California to tell Lauren that their lives are about to change and that she is leaving Tom. Lauren picks Sadie up from the airport excited to share news of her own, but only after they take a short hike in the Yosemite.

Despite her hesitation, Sadie agrees, wanting to make happy memories on this day before she ends her marriage. However, one wrong turn off the path leaves the ladies lost in the Yosemite with little on their persons in the means of survival.

This novel is fraught is filled with emotions as Sadie and Lauren attempt to find their way back to civilization, tired, exhausted, and injured. But, throughout their journey, this beautiful emotional journey, Lauren finds a way to help Sadie rediscover the life that she lost...and for her to realize that not all was lost on that tragic day.

And, just when all hope seemed lost, love finds a way.

I highly recommend this book and I look forward to reading other titles by this author.

Dancing with the Sun had me on the edge of my seat wit the action....when I wasn't being moved by the touching struggle of a mother trying to become her own person again.
This was a book that I walked around with my nose in and ended up reading in one day! I was just bewitched by the story!
What a gift Kay Bratt has, to pull you into her story and bring your emotions to so many levels!
The writing is stellar, plot over the top and characters full and rich.
A must read! An absolute 5 stars rating!I

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

Kay Bratt has such a wonderful gift to bring the reader emotionally into her stories. Dancing With the Sun took me into the harrowing journey with Sadie and her daughter Lauren. This was more than just a story of Sadie getting lost in the wilderness with her daughter...it was the story of Sadie finding her way out of the wilderness that her life had been for many years after the tragic loss of her son. Kay Bratt had me lost in the wilderness with these characters....the fear, the hopelessness, the intense anxiety of whether they would find their way out. Sadie had lost her way many years before and had kept her feelings hidden...or she thought she had. Her motherly instincts kicked in at protecting her daughter, no matter the cost, and had me rooting for them to find their way. Their "adventure" revealed many things that otherwise might have continued to be hidden.

I truly felt I was fighting to survive with Sadie and Lauren. This story is written from the heart and I felt it was very sensitive to the issues Kay Bratt included in this story. I enjoyed the story so very much and when I go out into the mountains and forests and see the light shining through the trees, I will be reminded to always be Dancing With the Sun


This passage in the book touched me:

"...I like to think that we don't really know why the sunflower moves the way it does. That some things in the universe are meant to remain a mystery. But the lesson I learned as I watched them and cataloged their progress is that through everything, good and bad, we should stand tall and follow the light. For our own growth."

I want to thank Kay Bratt, Lake Union Publishing, and Netgalley for the honor of reading this wonderful book. I gladly and happily recommend it. I have given it 5...YES READ IT and DANCE...stars.

I absolutely loved this book! The plot was interesting and moved along well. The characters were flawed and authentic. Kay Bratt writes stories from her heart, that touch the heart of the reader. This book certainly fits that description! Well done!

There are different kinds of isolation and it can either make or break a person. This is a beautifully written book about a mother's isolation from her family and the isolation that she and her daughter feel when they get lost at Yosemite. Will it make them stronger or break their spirits?

Sadie is ready to give up on her life. She has never recovered from the death of her son years earlier and has shut herself off emotionally from her husband and adopted daughter. She has given up her painting and basically her entire life. When she decides to make a surprise visit to her daughter, she has no idea that hiking in Yosemite National Park will be part of their plans. They are not prepared and when a short hike becomes a life threatening crisis, they have to be strong and rely on each other to survive. As they search for food and water and safety from predators, they both have to dig deep into themselves for their inner strength if they have a chance of survival. As their chances of survival dwindle, will they find it in themselves to really love and forgive?

This is a beautiful and well written novel with fantastic characters - flaws and all - that will have readers hoping for their survival and unable to put the book down. I loved it and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Dancing With the Sun is an amazing journey. There were times I just wanted to shake Sadie and Lauren for making really bad decisions, really bad ones! Who goes on a hike without a jacket? Or a compass? Or food? This story is Sadie’s journey to acceptance. I believe that Lauren, her adopted Chinese daughter, is wise beyond her 19 years, and it is with her tenacity and wisdom that Sadie is able to find herself once again. I enjoyed this journey. The characters were very real to me and I traveled alongside them as they danced with the sun.