Before We Stood Tall

From the dark days of World War II to present-day North Carolina, this New York Times bestseller shares the lives of two couples who overcome destructive secrets and find joy together. Ira Levinson is in trouble. Ninety-one years old, stranded and injured after a car accident, he struggles to maintain consciousness until a blurred image materializes next to him: his beloved wife Ruth, who died nine years ago. Urging him to endure, she forces him to remain vigilant by telling the stories of their life together: how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can't possibly be in the car with him, but she clings to his words and memories, reliving the everyday joys and sorrows that defined their marriage. A few miles away, at a local bull riding event, the life of a Wake Forest College senior is about to change. Recovering from a recent breakup, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has met at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced into a world in which survival and success are at stake, ruin and reward, even life and death, loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself envisioning a future far removed from her plans, a future that Luke has the power to rewrite. . . if the secret it keeps does not destroy it first. Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common and who are separated by years and experience. However, their lives will converge with unexpected intensity, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can produce extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.