Umbelliferae

About the Book

O filigree flower
rooted in rock.
Frequenting fields,
whispering wildly
"Come back from the flames
of the fiery furnace.
Home to the harbour,
where lace
will enfold you."

Anne Pynn's father Shadrach inexplicably left his home in Newfoundland before his daughter's birth. Raised by her pious aunt following her mother's death, Anne is compelled by bizarre dreams to unravel the mystery of her father's disappearance. Certain that her long lost "Papa" is still alive, Anne is assisted in her search for information of his whereabouts by old photos, her mother Druscilla's journals, family myths and letters. With the sudden death of her beloved Grandmother and the reading of an unusual will, Anne begins to form a plan to find her father. An emotional voyage takes her back into biblical times, takes her back to the birth of her parents and back to a time in Harbour Grace when the two fell in love. Disturbing truths take her forward on a passage from Harbour Grace, to St John's and on the high seas to Boston. Along the way she encounters people real and unreal and the legend of Umbelliferae begins. Anne records her journey, the lies and truths she discovers in a book which she titles after the legend. Inheriting her poetic ability from her grandmother Brigid, who was named after Saint Brigid the goddess of poetry, Anne commences each chapter of the book with a puzzling poem. It is up to the reader to fit the pieces of the puzzle together to decipher the Pynn family fable entwined with Queen Anne's Lace.

About the Author

Susan Yaremczuk is a retired physical and occupational therapist living with her husband in Paris Ontario. Born in 1946, she spent many happy hours listening to stories of the past told by her parents and grandparents. After raising four children and motivated by family tales she became interested in geneology. Searching her roots in Canada, the United States, England and Ireland, she became enamored with Newfoundland and chose it for the setting of her first novel. The author's favorite flower is Queen Anne's Lace.