Sweet Tea

A Novel

One sip of courage can pierce through the haze of a mother's unraveling mind.

The anniversary of Olivia’s daddy’s death happens to land on the same day the world remembers John Lennon. While TV stations replay Beatles songs, in 1984, Landon, Georgia, Olivia’s mama gets swept back into her own memories—and her behavior grows harder for Olivia to explain away.

A chance comment on a talk show flips a switch in Olivia’s mind: Mama might not just be quirky—she might actually be sick. Suddenly, sixteen-year-old Olivia is thrown into an adult world, searching for answers and strength she didn’t know she had. With no family to lean on, she finds help in the most unexpected places: a peculiar but kind stranger, and a friend Mama makes inside the psychiatric ward.

Balancing her mother’s struggles with the shaky excitement of first love, Olivia learns that courage and intuition—plus a little faith—are sometimes enough to light the way.