American Sycamore

A moving novel about the devotions of friendship and the power of love to heal, American Sycamore celebrates the American experiment and the importance of giving a damn.

Rob Barrow's devotion to the American experiment has never wavered. For forty years, he has devoted his legal brilliance to advancing the essential American ideals enshrined by the Founders. Rob is the best kind of throwback—a classic American character, reserved and respectful, yet with a fierce determination to protect the people and ideas that matter most. Rob stands his ground. He does not yield to the ridicule of malign political forces, nor to the mounting challenges of aging—loss, grief, even an invasion of rogue cells.

While American Sycamore is Rob's story, it is also the story of his beloved wife Julia, an author who believes America has lost her way and seeks to understand why. It is the story of their dearest friend, Dr. Ray Witter, a battlefield surgeon in Vietnam and now the medical school dean. When we first meet Rob, Julia, and Ray in graduate school during the 1970s, they are on an idealistic mission to make things right in America. A sense of purpose animates their lives while a commitment to each other powers them through the decades, strengthening their bond along the way.

American Sycamore celebrates what ennobles and buoys us—always welcome, but especially so in these mad times. The novel will appeal to readers of literary fiction and upmarket commercial fiction, including character-driven mysteries. This is a novel for readers drawn to complex characters facing life's challenges with grace and the power of shared love and friendship. It is a story that unfolds on several different levels with surprising twists and turns and, ultimately, a mystery at the heart of the matter.