Margins
The Gardener's Wife's Mistress book cover
The Gardener's Wife's Mistress
2026
First Published
4.09
Average Rating
216
Number of Pages

From award-winning poet and author of Hold My Place and Idle Hands comes a new novel about nature, grief, and the space we hold for loved ones long after death, no matter what they might have done. Hayden Hill has always felt most comfortable with his hands in dirt, nurturing life. He designs natural spaces for others and comes home to his back yard, where he seeks refuge amidst the fruits and vegetables, flora, and shade-giving trees. When he finds himself suddenly a widower, his garden becomes the resting place for the ashes of his wife, Shelly, and he’s thrown into an unexpected vortex of pain, shock, and guilt. As Hayden struggles to survive the torment of each day and keep his landscaping company functioning, a directive in Shelly’s will leads him to the discovery of a shocking secret. Fighting to find a path through the weeds of grief, Hayden meets his wife’s secret connections and becomes involved helping local, homeless teens cast out by their families for choosing to be who they are. Rocked by this newly discovered, complicated facet of Shelly’s life, he begins to question their marriage, her identity, his past choices, and whether anything he believed about his wife was ever true. Praise for Cassondra Windwalker's "One of the most excruciatingly emotional things I've ever read, and I loved every second of it." "Compulsive and gripping reading (that) makes you think and reflect on the human condition." "A powerful work of literary, poetical and lyrical fiction."

Avg Rating
4.09
Number of Ratings
33
5 STARS
33%
4 STARS
45%
3 STARS
18%
2 STARS
3%
1 STARS
0%
goodreads

Author

Cassondra Windwalker
Cassondra Windwalker
Author · 7 books
If my life were more interesting, I probably wouldn't spend so much time writing about other people!
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