Waiting for Butterflies

Publisher: Walrus Publishing

Waiting for Butterflies is an achingly tender portrait of a mother whose love reaches beyond the possible.

When tragedy strikes, Maggie discovers a mother's love never ends--not even when her life does. Longing for her family after her sudden death, she becomes a lingering spirit and returns home where she helplessly witnesses her family's downward spiral in the aftermath of her passing. Her husband is haunted by past mistakes and struggles to redeem himself. Her teenage daughter silently drowns in her own guilt, secretly believing she caused her mother's death. Only her five-year-old, full of innocence, can sense her presence. Although limited by her family's grief and lack of faith, Maggie is determined to keep a sacred promise and save her family before her second chance runs out.

Karen Sargent has a B.S. in English-Secondary Education, an M.A. in Teaching Rhetoric and Composition, and 22 years of experience teaching literature and writing at the high school and college levels. Her students have earned publication, scholarships, dinner at the governor’s mansion, and (for 14 years in a row) all-expense paid trips to Washington, D.C.

Karen has served multiple terms as president of regional and state English teachers’ associations. She has presented at numerous state and regional English and education conferences, and she has been blessed to receive regional and state teaching awards, including the Robert J. Greef Award from the Missouri Association of Teachers of English, Southeast MO English Teacher of the Year, and the Heartland’s Best Teacher Award from KFVS-TV.

In addition, Karen served four years as editor of the K-12 student publication, Missouri Youth Writes, and she completed the Missouri Writing Project, which is affiliated with the National Writing Project. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, the Missouri Writers’ Guild, and attends the Heartland Writers’ Guild and the SEMO Writers’ Guild.

Karen lives in the beautiful Arcadia Valley with her husband and two daughters.