The Oceanography of the Moon: A Novel

Review
“Set against a backdrop of family and the mysterious, all-encompassing beauty of the natural world, Vanderah’s gloriously readable new novel is a warm story of two damaged people desperate to heal and to find hope, resilience, and―just perhaps―each other. Such a beautifully written tale of buried secrets, dark pasts, and rare courage.” ―Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You and With or Without You
“Glendy Vanderah’s beautifully rendered The Oceanography of the Moon tackles the enormity of fate, identity, and climate crisis, while tending to the most delicate intricacies of the human heart. Vanderah’s suspenseful and heartbreaking story prods readers to reconsider their preconceived ideas about guilt and redemption, destiny and self-determinism, and magic and unavoidable realities. I couldn’t help but cheer for these characters, who navigate darkness but never fail to recognize the beauty of a moth’s wing or a distant crater on the moon.” ―Julie Carrick Dalton, author of Waiting for the Night Song
“Steeped in her signature love of nature, Glendy Vanderah weaves the intersecting lives of two strangers into a beautiful twist―one that takes readers from the depths of broken childhood and into the light of healing. This story unwinds the knots that lie buried beneath the surface in an exploration of the meaning of family and the deservingness of love. With lyrical language and characters so unique they leap off the page, it’s a richly told story of deep emotions, haunting regrets, and the hopeful path of redemption.” ―Kelley McNeil, author of A Day Like This
A heartfelt novel of shedding secrets, facing the past, and embracing the magic of love and family by the Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Where the Forest Meets the Stars.
After the untimely deaths of her aunt and mother, young Riley Mays moved from Chicago to her cousins’ Wisconsin farm. Here she found solace in caring for her extraordinary adoptive brother, exploring the surrounding wild nature, and gazing at the mystical moon―a private refuge in which she hides from her most painful memories. But ten years later, now twenty-one, Riley feels too confined by the protective walls she’s erected around herself. When a stranger enters her family’s remote world, Riley senses something he’s hiding, a desire to escape that she understands well.
Suffering from writer’s block, bestselling novelist Vaughn Orr has taken to the country roads when he happens upon the accommodating, if somewhat unusual, Mays family. He’s soon captivated by their eccentricities―and especially by Riley and her quiet tenacity. In her, he recognizes a shared need to keep heartbreaking secrets buried.
As the worst moments of their lives threaten to surface, Riley and Vaughn must find the courage to confront them if they’re to have any hope of a happy future. With the help of Riley’s supportive family, a dash of everyday magic, and the healing power of nature, can the pair let go of the troubled pasts they’ve clung to so tightly for so long?