The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern

By: Rita Zoey Chin

Narrated by: Sarah Skaer

A luminous coming of age story about a fiercely lonely young woman's quest to uncover the truth behind her mother's disappearance.

Born in a carnival trailer, Leah Fern begins her life as the "The Youngest and Very Best Fortuneteller in the World," taking strangers' hands and feeling the depths of their emotions. Her mother Jeannie Starr is a captivating magician, but not always an attentive mother, and when Leah is six, Jeannie upends their carnival life with an unexpected exit. With little fanfare and no explanation, she leaves her daughter at the home of Edward Murphy, a kindly older man with whom Leah shares one fierce wish: that Jeannie Starr will return to them.

After fifteen years as a small-town outcast, Leah decides to end her life on the occasion of her twenty-first birthday. But the intricate death ritual she has devised is interrupted by a surprise knock on her door. Her mysterious neighbor, the curmudgeonly and reclusive art photographer Essie East, has died and left Leah a very strange inheritance. Through a series of letters, Essie will posthumously lead Leah on a journey to nine points on the map, spanning from an island in Wisconsin to an island in the Arctic Circle—a journey that, the first note promises, will reveal the story of Leah's mother.

©2022 Rita Zoey Chin (P)2022 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Magical and inspiring

Rita Zoey Chin’ brilliant novel and Sarah Skaer’s unforgettable performance will lift your spirits. Perfect read for any age.

A Beautifully Written Story

I enjoyed the complex characters and the way they all came together to bring answers to questions that had plagued Leah Fern her entire life.
I love a story of magic, a witch’s journey, and a young woman finding her truth. Highly recommend!

Magical story

Bravely imagined, precisely plotted, with magical characters who also contain deepness. Glad I came across this author!

Flouncy

Identify-quest chock full of covens and symbols and perky personalities and magical nonsense symbolism. Ugh.