Smoke

What lines would you cross to save someone you love? Filled with the kinds of impossible choices that made the TV show Weeds such a hit, this compelling drama asks to what lengths an avid rule-follower will go in order to save her family--and the answer involves "growing" in surprising directions.

Sixteen-year-old Honor Augustine never set out to become a felon. As an academic all-star, avid recycler, and dedicated daughter to her PTSD-afflicted father, she's always been the literal embodiment of her name. Coloring inside the lines is what keeps Honor's chaotic existence orderly.
 
But when she discovers her father's VA benefits drying up, coupled with a terrifying bank letter threatening the family's greenhouse business--Honor vows to find a solution. She just doesn't expect to spot it on the dry erase board of English lit--"Nature's first green is gold."

The quote by Frost becomes the seed of an idea. An idea that--with patience and care--could germinate into a means of survival. Maybe marijuana could be more than the medicinal plant that helps quiet her father's demons. Maybe, it could save them all.

Author's Note


Dear Reader,


Three years ago, I had this seed of an idea— a story about a girl whose father was a war veteran with severe PTSD and found relief through the use of medical marijuana. A girl who also struggled with her own anxieties and inability to fix all that was broken, but was hell- bent on trying anyhow. A girl who was!.!.!. a lot like me. And while Smoke is undoubtedly a work of fiction— because, no, I never cultivated a bonanza of basement weed as a teen!— the roots of Honor’s story grew directly from my own.


As the daughter of a Vietnam veteran, and a veteran myself, I have seen firsthand the lasting effects of war. I’ve witnessed the unique and heart- wrenching struggles that can echo through a person’s lifetime. These experiences formed the taproot, that strong central vein driving deep to the heart of the story.


My choice to incorporate the topic of marijuana into this book was also inspired by events that have touched my life. In 2008, the state of Michigan legalized medical marijuana.
Shortly thereafter, I had a family member who became a licensed grower and provider, giving me insight into the agricultural process and uses of cannabis. Leaning into this knowledge became a natural extension of nature- loving Honor’s narrative.

While the gradual legalization of marijuana is changing the dynamic for the present and future, it does not right the historical wrongs in the glaring disparity of incarceration rates among white offenders and Black and Latinx offenders. There is much work to do to ensure that the color of a person’s skin has no influence on their punishment. Even in states where marijuana has been decriminalized, many remain imprisoned for prior cannabis offenses. However, hearing the unified demands for criminal justice reform fills me with hope. Liberty and justice for all must be more than empty words.


Darcy Woods