It begins with a miracle: a baby born too small and too early, but defiantly alive. This is Joe.
Decades before, another miracle. In a patch of nettle-infested wilderness, a seventeen year old boy falls in love with his best friend, Jack. This is Edward.
Joe gains a sister, Emily. From the outset, her life is framed by his. She watches him grow into a young man who plays the violin magnificently and longs for a boyfriend. A young man who is ready to begin.
Edward, after being separated from Jack, builds a life with Eleanor. They start a family and he finds himself a grandfather to Joe and Emily.
When Joe is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, Emily and the rest of the family are left waiting for a miracle. A miracle that won’t come.
Here Comes the Miracle is a profoundly beautiful story about love and loss; and about the beautiful and violent randomness of life.
Anna Beecher’s work is about love. She is interested in dignity, rebellion and lives shaped by loss. She is a current MFA candidate at the University of Virginia and a winner of the $10,000 Henfield Prize for Fiction. She also has written widely for theatre and performance, including early years show Nest, which will be touring the UK in March 2019. Here Comes the Miracle is her first novel.