Largely set in Savannah, One Beautiful Year of Normal (She Writes Press 2026) by Sandra Griffith explores the effects of a mother’s severe mental illness on her child in a riveting psychological thriller. The narrative shifts between past and present as the adult August Caine attends the funeral of her Aunt Helen—a woman she believed had died fifteen years earlier.
When August is eight, her father is murdered, and the killer is never caught. This trauma triggers her mother’s insistence that they are in danger and must move constantly. Is she paranoid and delusional, or is someone truly after them—and if so, why? Her mother stops speaking entirely, communicating only through notes. She refuses to leave the house, regardless of where they live. From age eight until her eleventh birthday, August must assume the role of adult: caring for her mother, educating herself, and living without friends or extended family.
On August’s eleventh birthday, her mother vanishes, and a stranger appears in the kitchen—Aunt Helen, a woman August never knew existed. Helen explains that August’s mother has been committed to a mental institution, and with that revelation begins August’s “beautiful year of normal.” Helen folds the child into a life of picnics, baseball games, school, and home-cooked meals. She is such a loveable character because of her willingness to completely upend her life for this child.
But after a year, August’s mother escapes from the institution and abducts August. The instability exacts a heavy toll. Deeply depressed, August eventually spends time in a mental institution herself. As an adult, she struggles to form meaningful connections. Working as a ghostwriter proves fitting: she, too, lives like a ghost under a different name, hoping to bury the memories of her distorted childhood.
At Helen’s funeral, suppressed memories begin to resurface. August encounters people from that bright, brief year in Savannah—Tommy, the boy next door; a woman who once glared at her with unexplained hostility; and her aunt’s circle of friends who brought joy into that home. August also recalls assisting Helen with researching Savannah’s history for the ghost tours she led. Readers follow August as she revisits her past and unravels the lies and secrets that have long haunted her family. It’s a compelling journey filled with hope that she can finally leave the past behind and discover many more beautiful years of normal.
Sandra K. Griffith
Sandra K. Griffith is a doctorate-level psychologist with extensive clinical and forensic experience. She owns a behavioral health agency and serves as an adjunct instructor at Marshall University. Her expertise in mental health, trauma, and the complexities of memory informs her deeply psychological and atmospheric storytelling. When she’s not writing, she enjoys traveling, antiquing, cooking, and spending time with her family, friends, and her too-large collection of pets. She divides her time between Kenova, West Virginia, and Tybee Island, Georgia, just outside Savannah.
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