Tell the Wolves I’m Home
There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned New York-based painter, Finn Weiss.
So when he dies far too young of a mysterious illness that June’s mother can barely bring herself to discuss, June’s world is turned upside down.
At the funeral, she notices a stranger man lingering just beyond the crowd, and a few days later, June receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet.
As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he might just be the one she needs the most.
Set against 1980’s New York and the fear and misinformation around HIV/AIDS, simultaneously heartbreaking and life-affirming, Tell the Wolves I’m Home is a tender story of love lost and found, an unforgettable portrait of the way compassion can make us whole again.
Carol Rifka Brunt is a New Yorker now based in Devon with her husband and three children. She was selected for the New Writing Partnership’s New Writing Ventures award.
In 2007, she received a generous Arts Council grant to write Tell the Wolves I’m Home, her first novel.