Table of Contents
About The Book
“You will open this book and you will not stop reading.” —Jenna Bush Hager
“A riveting wilderness suspense novel by a novelist at the height of her powers” (Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Candy House), Heartwood takes you on a gripping journey as a search and rescue team race against time when an experienced hiker mysteriously disappears on the Appalachian Trail in Maine.
In the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping.
At the heart of the investigation is Beverly, the determined Maine State Game Warden tasked with finding Valerie, who leads the search on the ground. Meanwhile, Lena, a seventy-six-year-old birdwatcher in a Connecticut retirement community, becomes an unexpected armchair detective. Roving between these compelling narratives, a puzzle emerges, intensifying the frantic search, as Valerie’s disappearance may not be accidental.
Heartwood is a “gem of a thousand facets—suspenseful, transporting, tender, and ultimately soul-mending,” (Megan Majumdar, New York Times bestselling author of A Burning) that tells the story of a lost hiker’s odyssey and is a moving rendering of each character’s interior journey. The mystery inspires larger questions about the many ways in which we get lost, and how we are found. At its core, Heartwood is a redemptive novel, written with both enormous literary ambition and love.
Appearances
Politics & Prose Union Market
Reading Group Guide
Talk about how you felt as Valerie described her lostness. What do you think you would feel or do if you became lost in the outdoors?
Valerie writes letters to her mother while she is lost in the woods. Who would you write to and what would you want them to know?
What do you think about the novel's connection between lostness and being motherless?
For many readers, Santo is a surprising favorite character. What did you think about his role in the investigation and his friendships with Valerie and Cody the warden?
Heartwood is as much about being lost as it is about being found. What times in your life have you been “lost” emotionally, spiritually, or psychologically, and who rescued you?
Heartwood was written during the pandemic and Lena was inspired by how difficult quarantine was for older people. Did reading Heartwood remind you of that difficult time? And was there anything you turned to, like reading, internet-sleuthing or hiking, that helped you get through it?
Though there are true stories of people going missing while hiking, there is also a vibrant and supportive trail community. The book is in many ways a celebration of the American wilderness. Did reading Heartwood make you want to hike the Appalachian Trail?
About The Author
Amity Gaige is the author of four previous novels, O My Darling, The Folded World, Schroder, and Sea Wife. Sea Wife was a 2020 New York Times Notable Book and a finalist for the Mark Twain American Voice Award. Schroder was also a New York Times Notable Book and a best book of 2013 according to The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, among others, and was shortlisted for UK’s Folio Prize in 2014. Her work has been translated into eighteen languages. In 2018, Amity was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fiction. She lives in West Hartford, Connecticut, with her family and teaches creative writing at Yale.
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (April 1, 2025)
- Length: 320 pages
- ISBN13: 9781668063620
Raves and Reviews
"[T]he best thriller of 2025 . . . A knock-out of a book, perfect for fans of Liz Moore’s God of the Woods."
—THE BOSTON GLOBE
"A novelistic cousin to Strayed’s best-selling 2012 memoir of tackling the Pacific Crest Trail after her mother’s death, it’s the story of three woodsy women each lost in her own wilderness, and the gnarled roots between mothers and daughters."
—NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
“Gaige’s ability to introduce suspense and build it continuously, page after page, is astonishing…. [A] complex, thrilling work.”
—MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
“A terrifically moving and tense thriller…genius.”
—THE WASHINGTON POST
"A crackling adventure story, a meditation on the fraught human connection to nature, and a subtle examination of the rocky relationships between mothers and daughters that shape the lives of its women characters, the novel tightens its grip as it moves toward uncovering its central mysteries."
—BOOKLIST, Starred Review
“A winning portrait of a woman, and community, in peril.”
—KIRKUS REVIEWS
“Unputdownable.”
—REAL SIMPLE
"Multifaceted characters and poetic prose enhance Gaige’s tender meditations on aging and mother-daughter relationships."
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Heartwood by Amity Gaige is a literary mystery so subtle in its construction set against the beauty and ruggedness of the Maine wilderness. An interwoven story of mothers and daughters, of the nature of relationships and how they can sustain us and sometimes test us. With a remarkable cast of characters, a setting so real and a story so expertly told, Heartwood is a marvel."
—AMANDA PETERS, author of The Berry Pickers
"Heartwood is mind-bogglingly good, and I tore through it despite my best intentions to savor every page. It's got such a brilliant, enthralling momentum. It's eerie and beautiful and fascinating—a book about survival against every existential threat, about connection despite every force tearing us asunder. I will be pressing it into everybody's hands."
—CATHERINE NEWMAN, New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich
"Heartwood is that rare unicorn of a book: A gripping page-turner of great beauty and insight. Amity Gaige’s latest is a story about survival and resilience, but also about the bonds between mothers and daughters—a book that is at once intimate and expansive. I couldn’t put it down even as it tore my heart apart."
—JANELLE BROWN, New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Things & Watch Me Disappear
“I can’t recall the last time I’ve been so dazzled by a novel. Heartwood is a literary thriller of the highest order. Amity Gaige's writing is both eloquent and authoritative. This is an ABSOLUTE MUST-READ. You will thank me.”
—ELIN HILDERBRAND, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Couple and Swan Song
"Heartwood is a masterfully multi-layered novel—at once a propulsive, nail-biting missing person thriller, an inspiring wilderness survival tale, and a deeply moving exploration of the complexities of mother-daughter bonds. With eloquence, insight, and grace, Amity Gaige uses gorgeous prose and the perfect structure to create one of the most emotionally satisfying and heartwarming stories I’ve read in a long time. I loved this book."
—ANGIE KIM, New York Times bestselling author of Happiness Falls and Miracle Creek
"Heartwood is a gem of a thousand facets—suspenseful, transporting, tender, and ultimately soul-mending, a novel as curious about birds and moss as it is about the innermost hearts of mothers and daughters. I read it at lightning speed, and now I treasure how the woods of this book persist in my mind."
—MEGHA MAJUMDAR, New York Times bestselling author of A Burning
“Heartwood is a riveting wilderness suspense novel: a missing person quest rendered in agile, extraordinary prose by a novelist at the height of her powers. I found it nearly impossible to put down.”
—JENNIFER EGAN, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Candy House
"Heartwood by Amity Gaige shines as a gritty, evocative and heart-stopping wilderness thriller. Yet this journey into the harshness of nature and the horror of being lost, is also a beautifully crafted eulogy to human survival and an ode to the power of the spirit as it echoes between the generations. An unforgettable treat from first page to last.”
—JANICE HALLETT, bestselling author of The Twyford Code
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Heartwood (A Read with Jenna Pick) eBook 9781668063620
- Author Photo (jpg): Amity Gaige Jane Shauk(0.1 MB)
Any use of an author photo must include its respective photo credit
