cover image When Light Breaks

When Light Breaks

Patti Callahan Henry. New American Library, $15 (278pp) ISBN 978-0-451-21834-6

Henry's moist novel (following Where the River Runs) about true love and being true to yourself follows 27-year-old Southern belle Kara Larson on her journey to self-realization. Along the way, Kara has some major events to prepare for: her marriage to hunky 35-year-old pro golfer Peyton Ellers, whom she met through her job as a PGA tour manager, and the golf tournament she's organizing in her home town of Palmetto Pointe, South Carolina. But on top of wedding dress fittings and Palmetto Pointe Open publicity, Kara must serve community service to guarantee a place in the Palmetto Point Junior Society. So she heads to the nursing home for regular visits to Maeve Mahoney, a 96-year-old Irish lady who spins ""a beautiful story of love and betrayal, full of truth."" Maeve's words of wisdom help Kara realize she might not be over her childhood love Jack Sullivan, and that her true calling is photography, not golf tour management. Fans of earnest Southern women's fiction will appreciate the lessons here.