"A heartwarming story"

Karen Sommerfield feels she must be in hell not Boston. First Dr. Connor tells her she might have cancer again, previously diagnosed when she miscarried; Later that morning Lansing Technology downsized her mid management high tech job after fifteen loyal years in which she realizes as the anger flows through her that the firm was her first love, not herself or her spouse James.

The two hits slam home to Karen. When her somewhat estranged sister Kate calls from Hindsville, Missouri, Karen decides it is time to mend fences and visit her family while she still can. In the Ozarks on Grandma Rose's farm, Karen begins to listen to the Sycamore trees while her family including Kate's children engulfs her with love just as she reaches out to a mistreated young neighbor with music ability.

The talent of Lisa Wingate comes out very strongly with this powerful first person account of a person seeking what matters in life. The story line avoids the extreme so that the audience receives a deep character study that emphasizes loved ones as critical to well being while not condemning the urban rat race. The cast provides depth to the understanding of what motivates Karen so that she is a complete person struggling with establishing new goals. Genre fans will hear the entertaining message of THE LANGUAGE OF SYCAMORES.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted December 28, 2004

Summary

Karen Sommerfield has been hiding from life—immersing herself in a high-powered job—until the day the company downsizes her out of a job and the doctor tells her that she may have cancer. It's a double blow that sends Karen on a search for herself in the last place she ever thought to look: Grandma Rose's old farm.

As Karen's hectic schedule falls away, she opens up to the unexpected. In the quiet of the Missouri Ozarks, she hears the soft, secret language of the sycamore trees, and discovers answers and a joy to make her life complete.