THE OAK LEAVES by Maureen Lang

One writer’s take on the “book of her heart.”

Maureen Lang thought she’d write about her experience with Fragile X Syndrome (a genetic form of mental retardation) “someday.” After all, having a child who requires round-the-clock care doesn’t make for the upbeat, escapist reading most romance novelists prefer to write about. Still, Lang wanted to include Fragile X in a story because so few people have heard of the disorder that affects her 12-year-old son. So she put the tale in the middle of a love story (The Oak Leaves).

The Victorian romance of Cosima Escott is interspersed between the pages of a glimpse into the contemporary life of Talie Ingram as her world is forever altered by her son’s diagnosis of Fragile X Syndrome.

About the Author:  

Maureen Lang's first novel was a romance, penned (literally) when she was around ten years old. It was titled "To Have and To Hold" and was hand printed since she wasn't at the time allowed to use the one and only typewriter her family owned. (This was way before computers.) She bound her first book, a limited edition novel, with soft brown deerskin and passed it around to neighborhood kids. Those kids are probably responsible for the fact she's still writing today. They liked it and wanted to read more — thus launching the career of a romance writer.

About the Book:

Talie Ingram has an ideal life: a successful, devoted husband; a beautiful one-year-old son; and another on the way. But her world is shattered when she discovers a shocking family secret in the nineteenth-century journal belonging to her ancestor Cosima Escott. Only in reading Cosima’s words can Talie make peace with the legacy she’s inherited and the one she’s passed on to her son.

From the very beginning, Lang, a romance novelist and author of Pieces of Silver, deftly navigates back and forth in history… It’s Cosima's lingering voice—her determination and faith—that inspires Talie to reconcile her son's diagnosis of fragile X syndrome (a disability Lang's own son suffers from) with her belief that God is merciful. — Publisher’s Weekly

A tender account of unconditional love and the deeper joy that results from overcoming the odds, Lang's latest is recommended for all collections and is an essential read for those with fragile X syndrome in their families. — Library Review

If there’s one thing Maureen Lang would like readers to take away, it’s that God loves us all, even through the trials He allows into our lives. And one more thing … the next time you happen to see a family with a disabled child … send a smile their way!

Look for a copy of The Oak Leaves at your local or on-line bookstore today.