Synopsis

A tragic mystery blending sleuthing and spirituality

​An exploration in grief, suicide, spiritualism, and Inuit culture, Winter of the Wolf follows Bean, an empathic and spiritually evolved fifteen-year-old, who is determined to unravel the mystery of her brother Sam’s death. Though all evidence points to a suicide, her heart and intuition compel her to dig deeper. With help from her friend Julie, they retrace Sam’s steps, delve into his Inuit beliefs, and reconnect with their spiritual beliefs to uncover clues beyond material understanding.

Both tragic and heartwarming, this twisting novel draws you into Bean’s world as she struggles with grief, navigates high school dramas, and learns to open her heart in order to see the true nature of the people around her. Winter of the Wolf is about seeking the truth—no matter how painful—in order to see the full picture.

In this novel, environmentalist and award-winning author, Martha Handler, brings together two important pieces of her life—the death of her best friend’s son and her work as president of the Wolf Conservation Center—to tell an empathetic and powerful story with undeniable messages.

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Praise for Winter of the Wolf

“Martha’s gut wrenching and captivating story may be a work of fiction, but it hauntingly hits home. I felt like I was reading my worst nightmare.”  –Stephanie Ruhle, NBC News

“Handler takes us deep inside one family’s tragedy and shows us how our spiritual beliefs can guide us at our deepest moments of grief. As we travel with fifteen-year-old Bean, through the loss of her beloved brother Sam, we see how friendship, trust, and deeply held beliefs help her navigate the painful aftermath of his death. In a mystery that races forward, Handler shows us the power of sibling love to endure forever.  –Lisa Heffernan, Author of Grown and Flown: How to Support Your Teen, Stay Close as a Family, and Raise Independent Adults

“All great books open our minds, broaden our visions and strengthen our convictions, and Martha Hunt Handler’s Winter of the Wolf does all three brilliantly. Much like a wolf, 15-year-old Bean follows her intuition, desperate and determined to prove her beloved brother did not choose to end his life. As readers follow her emotional and spiritual journey, they will, undoubtedly, begin to question their own beliefs about life and death and our interconnectedness of all spiritual beings. A breathtaking read from start to finish.”  –Hélène Grimaud, Founder of the Wolf Conservation Center, world-renowned musical artist, writer, and human rights activist

“A true literary masterpiece.  Martha Hunt Handler takes us on an ‘edge of your seat’ thriller, We find ourselves arriving at the fearless collision course between perceptions we hold, and forgives within. A double take on life’s purpose, spirituality, and the distance unconditional love is forced to take through a journey of unfathomable pain, to the bright light we all hold within us.”  –Wendy Diamond, Best Selling Author, TV personality, animal advocate, and founder of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day

“Let Winter of the Wolf take you on a journey of the soul to unearth the truth to set you free.”  –Emme, Supermodel and social reformer

“Winter of the Wolf is a compelling, heartfelt tale based on a story close to the author’s heart. She takes what is a difficult subject and weaves a captivating story about life, death, grief and gratitude.  A must read for any age.”  –Mary Ellen Keating, Former Senior Vice President of Communications, Barnes & Noble, Inc.

“What we attempt to capture in our photographs, Martha Hunt Handler portrays with her words in a heartbreaking story that reminds us of our interconnectedness with all that is living and breathing on our planet.”  –Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier, Co-Founders of SeaLegacy, world renowned nature photographers and filmmakers

“Heart-warming and unflinching, Winter of the Wolf explores one family’s struggle to face the complex nature of death and loss. A timely and important tale for all ages, it offers a powerful message of hope for our lives.” –Kristen Wolf, Bestselling author of The Way: A Girl Who Dared to Rise

“Winter Of The Wolf takes you on an amazing and emotional journey through suicide and spiritual discovery.”  –Bria Neff, Teen wildlife artist and advocate

Guest Post

Inspiration for the Plot of Winter of the Wolf

By Martha Hunt Handler

In 2001, when I was 42, I received a call that rocked my world. My childhood best friend, Gretchen, had just found her 12-year-old son Brendan hanging from a belt in his bedroom. Almost immediately, I felt myself shutting down. I couldn’t process the loss of such a young soul, and I had no clue how to comfort Gretchen. Growing up, she and I were exceptionally spiritual, thanks to the daily teachings of our mothers. We understood that souls, as pure energy, cannot be lost nor destroyed, but only change form. We also believed that each of our lifetimes is part of a long journey that ultimately contribute to our soul’s growth. But when Brendan passed, none of our beliefs seem to make any sense. What could Brendan possibly have learned or accomplished in his short lifetime?

Needing a place to put all my agonizing questions and thoughts, I began to journal. But I was getting nowhere. Brendan’s death still felt like a very dark and mysterious hole. Dark, because neither Gretchen or I was having any luck contacting Brendan, and mysterious because, despite the compelling evidence, Gretchen was adamant that he hadn’t taken his own life, and I trusted her instincts.

About four months later, I began to hear Brendan’s voice. He was requesting that I write a fictionalized account of his story, which sounded absurd. I exclusively wrote non-fiction pieces as an environmental consultant and, more recently, as a magazine columnist and supporter of the Wolf Conservation Center. I didn’t have a clue how to write fiction nor did I believe I had the talent for such an endeavor. And, even if I did, I didn’t know Brendan’s story; I didn’t understand why he was no longer with us. So, what did he want me to write?

A few weeks later, while cleaning out an old chest of my childhood keepsakes, I came across a book I’d written and illustrated when I was seven years old. It brought back a profound and sad memory. I’d spent all evening alone in my room that night as I conceived of this original tale of a runaway bunny. When finished, I presented it to my father and proudly proclaimed that I was going to be a writer when I grew up. Instead of congratulating me, he laughed and told me that writing stories wouldn’t pay the bills. I was devastated, but I didn’t have it in me to challenge him. But now, I wondered if Brendan wasn’t right. Perhaps writing fiction had been my destiny all along.

One of the more important themes in my novel is encouraging young people (and adults) to trust their instincts and not letting others dissuade them from their deep knowing of themselves. When we’re young, we’re incredibly susceptible and vulnerable to the opinions of others. This, and the fact that we feel pressure to “fit in,” results in us hiding or suppressing those unique and magical parts of ourselves, which results in many of us never reaching our full potential.

Remembering this sad incident helped launch my writing. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I dug in, showed up, and wrote as if I were on a mission. I attempted to tell the story from a bunch of different angles but finally settled on having the protagonist be a sister who loses her older brother. Once I found my protagonist and nailed her voice, the story began to come together, just as Brendan had promised.

It has been a long and winding road writing Winter of the Wolf, but it has been the journey of a lifetime for me. In the beginning, I just wanted to get the story out as quickly as possible, because it was painful to sit day after day in the heavy aftermath of a child’s death. But the more I let myself go into the pain, the more light I began to see. So, though it’s a story that begins in a place of profound grief, it moves to a place of profound gratitude.

Though I still can’t tell you what Brendan accomplished in his lifetime, in his afterlife, he helped me re-believe and re-discover my innate storytelling talents, and for this, I will always be grateful.

About the Author

Martha Hunt Handler grew up in northern Illinois dreaming about wolves and has always understood that her role in this lifetime is to tell stories and be a voice for nature. She has been an environmental consultant, a magazine columnist, an actress, and a polar explorer, among other occupations. She has also driven across the country in an 18-wheeler and been a grand-prize winner of The Newlywed Game.

Soon after she and her family relocated from Los Angeles to South Salem, New York, she began to hear wolves in her backyard. This was the start of her twenty-plus-year career as an advocate for wolves at the Wolf Conservation Center, where she currently serves as Board President. When not up near the wolves and her rescue pups, she can be found in New York City with her husband and four adult children.

This is her first novel but definitely not her last.

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