Learning to Stay

Praise for the Novels
of Erin Celello

LEARNING TO STAY

“I was completely taken with this novel and its hauntingly real descriptions of what it means to welcome a loved one home from war when big pieces of them have been punched out…. What makes this gem of a novel so special is that it isn’t a book written for survivors or military audiences or any niche group; it is a universal and instructive tale of what it takes to dig down and find the good parts of a marriage, to fight not only for those you love but to be willing to make course corrections when life throws a curveball through your picture-perfect plans…. I dare anyone to read this book and not be fully absorbed and haunted by these two intricately drawn characters…. Celello has created a masterful mosaic of what PTSD can do to families.”

—Lee Woodruff,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Those We Love Most
and coauthor of
In an Instant

“
Learning to Stay
is a compelling novel about a soldier who returns from Iraq a much different man than the one who first deployed and the wife poised between staying in this suddenly volatile relationship or forging ahead on her own. As an Army spouse, I am grateful for Erin Celello’s dedication to revealing ‘the hidden wounds of war’ and how they impact our military and their families.”

—Siobhan Fallon, author of
You Know When the Men Are Gone

“
Learning to Stay
is a story about one broken man’s extraordinary relationship with the devoted, love-struck dog that saves his life. Erin Celello has written a surprising and heartwarming look at what’s left in a marriage after post-traumatic stress has forced romance to take a hike, and what one perfect mutt can teach a besieged husband and wife about the heroics of loyalty and determination.”

—Jeanine Cummins, author of
The Crooked Branch

“A riveting and tender portrait of what we lose in war, even when our loved ones are returned to us, and the emotional battle a wife must wage to bring her husband back to her. Erin Celello truly understands the human heart: the way we bend, the way we break, and especially the way we heal.”

—Erika Marks, author of
The Mermaid Collector

“An important and inspiring novel—serving to remind us that for many soldiers and their loved ones, war doesn’t end when battlefields go silent.”

—John Shors, bestselling author of
Temple of a Thousand Faces

“Erin Celello’s fine novel
Learning to Stay
reminds us of something we know in our hearts but conveniently forget time and again when war approaches: that the soldiers we send off to fight in our interests will return, if not broken, then changed in unexpected and sometimes tragic ways.
Learning to Stay
is a timely novel, but also a novel that speaks to the tides of any marriage, in peacetime or at war. Written with a present tense immediacy, Erin Celello’s novel portrays life after the Welcome Home signs are folded up and put away.”

—Joseph Monninger, author of
Margaret from Maine

MIRACLE BEACH

“
Miracle Beach
gives the reader a vivid sense of the Pacific Northwest and the world of show jumping, but most importantly it shows how characters shattered by grief can put the pieces back together in an entirely new way. Erin Celello writes of loss and resilience with a sure, honest hand.”

—Heidi Jon Schmidt, author of
The Harbormaster’s Daughter

“
Miracle Beach
ripples with surprising twists and turns. Erin Celello has a knack for writing characters that jolt the reader with the risks they take while also creating a satisfying sense of rightness. Love is here, grief, the beauty of place, suspense, and an ending that fits just right. Erin Celello has given us a fulfilling novel in
Miracle Beach
.”

—Tina Welling, author of
Cowboys Never Cry
and
Fairy Tale Blues

“
Miracle Beach
is a lyrical, surprising novel, set in a landscape as wild as memory. Erin Celello understands that the past is always present, and she takes that age-old truth and spins it into a story of secrets, sorrow, and second chances. A marvelous debut.”

—Dean Bakopoulos, author of
My American Unhappiness

“The skillfully portrayed, believably flawed heroine has to simultaneously come to grips with the upheaval of everything she knows and her tumultuous past. Celello gets to the heart of the human character, making this story one powerful read.”

—
Romantic Times

“Celello brings a fine sense of place to this earthy small town in Vancouver, Canada.”

—
Publishers Weekly

Prologue

One

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Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-one

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Twenty-three

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Twenty-five

Twenty-six

Twenty-seven

Twenty-eight

Twenty-nine

Thirty

Thirty-one

Thirty-two

Thirty-three

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Thirty-eight

Acknowledgments

About the Author