AS WIDE AS THE SKY
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Five a.m.: Amanda Mallorie wakes to the knowledge that her son Robbie is gone, and a new chapter of her own life must begin. She has spent four years as her son’s only support, desperately trying to understand the actions that landed him on death row and to change his fate. Now Amanda faces an even more difficult task—finding a way, and a reason, to move forward with her own life.
Before the tragedy that unfolded in a South Dakota mall, Robbie was just like other people’s sons or daughters. Sometimes troubled, but sweet and full of goodness too. That’s the little boy Amanda remembers as she packs up his childhood treasures and progress reports, and discovers a class ring she’s never seen before. Who does it belong to, and why did Robbie have it in his possession? So begins a journey that will remind her not only of who Robbie used to be, but of a time when she wasn’t afraid to talk to strangers, to help those in need, or to reach out. Robbie’s choices can never be unmade, but there may still be time for forgiveness and trust to grow again—for a future as wide as the sky.
“Jessica Pack takes a courageous and unflinching look at one mother’s struggle with love, loss, and guilt after her adult son’s mass shooting in a mall and his subsequent execution. In the vein of Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes, As Wide as the Sky explores the human component of tragedy and the treacherous terrain that loved ones of both the victims and the perpetrator must navigate to find a semblance of peace and healing.”
—Mandy Mikulencak, author of The Last Suppers
“There is a stoic, no-nonsense beauty to Kilpack’s prose. She writes plainly, as she must with a story of such intense drama. She invites us to step inside this hard-edged series of events and meet characters as rich and indelible as the life they endure. The result is a novel that defies its harsh beginnings, and offers us a reason to rise from the ashes. This is a phenomenal read.”
—Davis Bunn, Internationally Bestselling Author