Walter's Purple Heart

From the bestselling author of DON'T LET ME GO and PAY IT FORWARD, comes a flight of sheer imagination: the story of a love affair that spans two lives, two incarnations--and the many repercussions of a young life cut short by war.

Michael Steeb is an aimless twenty-one-year-old pot farmer in Central California in the 1980s. He has no real plans or interests…until the day he connects with memories of a life that seems to belong to someone else. That “spirit” is Walter, a young American soldier killed in World War II.

Michael’s task is the near-impossible: to lead Walter’s family to closure and peace, to deliver the real truth behind Walter’s Purple Heart, and to somehow achieve the forgiveness absent for so many years so Walter can move on. Michael sets out to find Walter’s best friend Andrew, and Mary Ann, the fiancée Walter left behind. Mary Ann recognizes Walter in Michael immediately. But Andrew sets out to prove that Michael is the worst sort of con man.

Narrated in large part by Walter from beyond the grave, WALTER'S PURPLE HEART is a fast-paced war drama and a deeply felt romance, with a unique twist on the prospect of multiple lives. Catherine Ryan Hyde paints an enduring portrait of a life prematurely lost, and the endless ripples of consequence to those who loved him, in a microcosm that sheds light on the true gravity of war.

"Hyde is a remarkable, insightful storyteller, creating full-bodied characters whose dialogue rings true, with not a word to spare....it's compelling enough that readers may find themselves finishing it at a single sitting." -Library Journal

This "Classic Catherine" Anniversary Edition includes a new Author's Note by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

Romance