Introduction

Left at an orphanage as a child, Thea Reed vowed to find her mother someday. Now grown, her search takes her to Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin, in 1908. When clues lead her to a mental asylum, Thea uses her experience as a post-mortem photographer to gain access and assist groundskeeper Simeon Coyle in photographing the patients and uncovering the secrets within. However, she never expected her personal quest would reawaken the legend of Misty Wayfair, a murdered woman who allegedly haunts the area and whose appearance portends death.

A century later, Heidi Lane receives a troubling letter from her mother--who is battling dementia--compelling her to travel to Pleasant Valley for answers to her own questions of identity. When she catches sight of a ghostly woman who haunts the asylum ruins in the woods, the long-standing story of Misty Wayfair returns--and with it, Heidi's fear for her own life.

As two women across time seek answers about their identities and heritage, can they overcome the threat of the mysterious curse that has them inextricably intertwined?

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Discussion Questions

1. Both Heidi and Thea struggle with understanding their personal identities and how this factors into their lives’ purpose. How have you struggled to “find yourself”? Where are you now in that personal journey?

2. Hospitals for individuals suffering with mental illness were prevalent in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. However, many people were admitted for undefined conditions such as epilepsy, prolonged grief, and even widowhood. What significant improvements have modern medicine made in helping individuals to deal with weaknesses of the human body and spirit? Which maladies today have our society been poor at offering support to hurting individuals?

3. Rhett and his family point Heidi toward her Creator and help her to see beyond a clouded, internal focus. Who has played a pivotal part in your journey, both in your faith and in your formation as a person?

4. As you contemplate the story and the themes of identity and life purpose, how do you feel the legend of Misty Wayfair paralleled the lessons Heidi and Thea needed to learn?

5. Emma is a key influence, not only in solving the mystery of Misty Wayfair but also in bringing life back to Heidi. All too often, individuals with special needs are disregarded, but they have so much wealth to offer us. Has someone with special needs enriched your life in some way? What lessons has this person taught you?

6. Heidi discovers an antique photo album filled with pictures over a century old. What is your favorite vintage find? Why?

7. Thea’s career as a traveling photographer, serving those with a deceased family member through postmortem photography, is morbid to us today. But in the Victorian and early Edwardian eras, this was a widespread practice, and the photographs became treasured memorabilia. How do you or others you know memorialize a loved one today?

8. The romance in both stories is subtle; however, Rhett and Simeon each brought a unique perspective that resulted in Heidi and Thea beginning new journeys to know their Creator more deeply. Who challenges you on a regular basis to view life from a different perspective? Can you recall a specific instance when that challenge was a special help to you?

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