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(all-inclusive — food, drink, hotel, green fees, cart, airport transfers) sides of her tongue, the menthol smoke, the chemical air freshener, a variety of aftershaves of strangers in their house, all of it.”

Once home, Kate found her mother deathly ill, “a skeletal, yellow-grey version of herself.” The bungalow was filled with people she didn’t know, travelers from south of the U.S. border who were there because of Maribel Reyes, a former teacher and mother of three who fled Mexico to build a better life for her family.

Maribel had moved into the Jessup home, taking on a daughter-like caregiver role for Jessie. More than that, she had created a safe house for migrant workers who made stops in southeastern North Carolina as they carved new paths in a foreign and sometimes unwelcoming land.

Maribel, Kate and Jessie may have converged in this place from different circumstances for an array of reasons but they shared a powerful bond. They were mothers who knew too well the pangs of being separated from their children. Each was willing to go to great lengths to narrow that distance, often bending the rules to achieve that greater purpose.

As the women plot the trip to get Maribel’s children out of Mexico and across the Bridge of the Americas from Cuidad Juarez into El Paso, Texas, Allen shows her deftness at describing places. You can almost feel the hot weather of the inner coastal communities. “Kate knew heat,” Allen writes. “She knew it up and down like the motion of a paper fan in a closed-window church. Blot-a-cloth-against-your-sweaty-forehead heat. Waving-up- from-the-asphalt-like-a-mirage heat. Wet heat.”

You can visualize what the coastal community looked like before the new housing developments cropped up on old farmland and forever altered the landscape. The sounds and smells of the changes hang heavily in the air — new languages among the rural Southern accents, the chilaquiles and memelas served in kitchens where biscuits once were the main fare.

Amid all the calculating, heartbreaking and serpentine storylines of survival are moments of triumph, jubilation and humor. Allen has her readers cheering for her characters, rallying for them to forgive themselves and others and longing for new beginnings.

“Follow anything back to the beginning, and you will find a mother,” Jackie says at one point.

From start to finish, Allen will make her readers think about motherhood, how to define it, and the joys, messiness and sacrifices that come with the job.

Author Alena Dillon describes Allen’s first novel as “a literary mic drop.” Let’s hope it’s not the end of a performance, but the first of more stories to come. She’s off to a great start. PS

Anne Blythe has been a reporter in North Carolina for more than three decades covering city halls, higher education, the courts, crime, hurricanes, ice storms, droughts, floods, college sports, health care and many wonderful characters who make this state such an interesting place.

$695,000

3 bed

2.5 bath

Jennifer Nguyen (910) 585-2099

Julia Lattarulo (910) 690-9716

MLS 100372444

This charming home is a quick cart ride away from the heart of Pinehurst and minutes from First Health.

$565,000

3 bed

4 bath

Debbie Darby (910) 783-5193

MLS 100354707

You won’t believe the space & storage in this one-level Middleton Place townhome! Enjoy a finished basement plus an in-law suite.

$650,000

3 bed

2.5 bath

Jennifer Nguyen (910) 585-2099

MLS 100386797

Nestled in the pines, this home is a private oasis within a carts ride to the village of Pinehurst.

$525,000

3 bed

2 bath

Jennifer Nguyen (910) 585-2099

MLS 100388761

$634,000

3 bed

2.5 bath

Debbie Darby (910) 783-5193

MLS 100384467

This sleek and inspiring home is being sold turn-key with all furnishings. It’s never been so easy to move to Pinehurst!

LUXURY

$499,999

3 bed

2.5 bath

Jordan Baker (540) 454-3641

MLS 100384837

This charming home features a beautiful backyard oasis, many improvements, and is situated by the Southern Pines Golf Club!

You don’t want to miss this lovely home with a bonus room in the highly-desired Aboretum Neighborhood!