Seven-year-old Cordie Lock loves platypuses and wildflowers. When she loses her brother, Jamie, and her mother, June, on the same day, one year apart, the colours of the wildflowers fade. The adults in her life are struggling. All her dad wants to do is drink, her grandmother is worried all the time, and Pop is acting strange. Cordie seeks solace from her imaginary friend, Rich. Together they try to navigate the trauma and changes in Cordie's life.
Ben, Cordie's father, blames himself for Jamie's death. He and June had become estranged in the year following Jamie's loss. Now he has lost June too, and his guilt is exacerbated. He knows his daughter needs him, but he just can't get it together, turning to alcohol for solace.
Cordie is the only family; June's sister, Scarlett, has left. Scarlett wants to help Cordie, but her motivations are off kilter, and things don't go well. To heal, she must find the mother who abandoned her and June when they were teenagers.
It is Ben's brother, Hart, that steps in to care for Cordie. Hart has been in a rut since losing his own wife and unborn child years before. Can Hart prevail and find a way forward for himself and those he loves?
Katherine Kennedy's debut novel is set in the beauty of the Tasmanian bush and rugged landscapes of Western Australia.
Solace shows us how the strength and resilience of family and the love of good friends can help us overcome the worst of times.
