I Will Send Rain

From its first page, I Will Send Rain is a story you feel, as the family at its center—and more broadly, their town—comes undone by the relentless waves of grit and dust that marked the Dust Bowl years. In the Bells, Meadows delivers an uncommon family portrait. Untethered by daily drought and storms that leave layers of dirt on counters, pies, in hair, eyes and throats, each in the family harbors a secret dream of escape: through a first love, through faith, by way of a far-away city and a man who will take you there. And for Fred, the youngest Bell, in a rich world of his own creation. Neighbors leave, secrets accrue, and finally tragedy strikes, leaving the Bells fighting for their footing, fumbling for mercy and meaning in the face of the incomprehensible.
 
Meadows’s singular gift as a writer makes this novel sing. I Will Send Rain is a piercing story of motherhood and family, resilience, longing, fierce love, and in the end, hope. It’s story that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.