Invisible wounds. We may think we've buried them in a place from which their sting can no longer reach us, but it does. Such wounds cut deeply, linger, metamorphose, and when they eventually surface, their consequences are dire. Such wounds motivate my novel The Meadow, a work of literary historical fiction set in America's heartland in the late 1960s. Walter Neumann struggles with his father's dream for him: that Walt forego college and serve in the Army as he had served in World War II. An accident unexpectedly enables Walt to avoid military service and pursue his own dream, but he soon discovers that dreams don't ensure happiness. When a tragedy in the Neumann family prompts the revelation of secrets his parents have hidden for years, these secrets threaten to shatter Walt's world. Through the love and guidance of the people who matter most to him and through the redemptive power of stories, Walt arrives at a place of healing--for himself and for his family--and feels equipped to handle the difficulties he knows he, and others, will encounter in the future.