Amity Gaige’s Heartwood delivers a lyrical meditation on what it means to be lost—both in the literal wilderness of Maine’s Appalachian Trail and in the metaphorical forests of human relationships. This novel, her fifth following acclaimed works like Sea Wife and Schroder, weaves together three distinct narrative threads that ultimately converge in an exploration of survival, motherhood, and reconciliation.
When 42-year-old nurse Valerie Gillis (trail name “Sparrow”) vanishes from the Appalachian Trail just 200 miles shy of her destination, the disappearance triggers a massive search operation. At the center of this effort is Lieutenant Beverly Miller, a stoic Maine Game Warden whose life has been defined by finding others. Meanwhile, in a Connecticut retirement community, 76-year-old Lena Kucharski finds herself unexpectedly drawn into the mystery through an online connection. As the search intensifies and days pass without resolution, all three women face moments of reckoning with their past choices, relationships, and sense of self.
The Forest of Voices: Narrative Structure and Perspective
Gaige employs a multi-perspective narrative that alternates between these three women’s viewpoints, creating a rich tapestry that reveals the interconnectedness of their journeys. The structure itself mirrors the novel’s themes:
- Valerie’s sections take the form of poignant letters to her mother, written as she battles starvation, dehydration, and isolation. These passages shimmer with raw emotion and poetic language: “I was built to feel, so I felt. I was built to give, so I gave.“
- Lieutenant Bev’s chapters follow the procedural aspects of the search while revealing her own complex relationship with her family, her career, and the wilderness she’s dedicated her life to protecting.
- Lena’s storyline initially seems tangential but gradually reveals its essential connection to the central mystery, while offering a meditation on aging, estrangement, and the possibility of redemption.
This three-strand approach could have felt disjointed in less capable hands, but Gaige masterfully weaves them together, creating moments of resonance and contrast that deepen the reader’s engagement with each character.
The Heartwood: Thematic Richness
The novel’s title—referring to the inner core of a tree that provides structural integrity—serves as its central metaphor. Each character is seeking her own “heartwood”—the essential center that keeps her standing through life’s storms.
1. Motherhood and Connection
The mother-daughter relationship forms the emotional core of the novel. Valerie addresses her letters to a mother who instilled both love and anxiety. Bev grapples with a complicated relationship with her aging mother who never quite understood her. Lena faces the consequences of her strained relationship with her estranged daughter Christine.
Gaige writes with unflinching honesty about these bonds:
“It’s the dream mother that you have to let go of. The one you pined for, the one you thought your decency promised you. She’s the one you’ve got to bury.“
2. The Wilderness Within and Without
The Maine woods serve as both literal setting and metaphorical landscape. The dense, disorienting forest reflects the characters’ internal states—their confusion, fear, resilience, and occasional moments of transcendence. Gaige’s descriptions of the natural world are lush and precise:
“These are crowded, witchy, moss-dark woods, where root to crown the trees battle for light, everything reaching, even the tiny seedlings sprouting in the leaf humus.“
3. Finding and Being Found
The novel explores different forms of being lost. Valerie is physically lost in the wilderness. Bev, despite her expertise in finding others, has lost connection with her family. Lena has lost her daughter and, in some ways, herself. The search for Valerie becomes a multilayered metaphor for all forms of human searching.
The Rings of Craft: Writing Style and Execution
Amity Gaige’s prose is a standout element of Heartwood. Her writing is precise yet lyrical, observant and deeply felt. She shifts registers deftly between characters—from Valerie’s introspective, occasionally hallucinatory musings to Bev’s professional pragmatism to Lena’s academic detachment gradually warming into emotional engagement.
Consider this passage from Valerie’s journal:
“I know, I know. How strange, to focus on the beauty of this place. It can’t be a good sign.
Sleep comes easily, often.
In the middle of the night, I hear another search plane.
But when I wake up, a mosquito whines in my ear.“
The novel excels particularly in its portrayal of Valerie’s physical and psychological deterioration as her ordeal extends. Gaige renders this experience with harrowing detail that never feels exploitative, balancing moments of despair with surprising beauty and even humor.
Hollow Spots: Areas for Criticism
Despite its considerable strengths, Heartwood by Amity Gaige occasionally stumbles. Some readers might find:
- Pacing issues in the middle section when the search seems to stall and narrative momentum slows
- Contrived connections between the storylines that stretch credibility, particularly in Lena’s involvement
- Underdeveloped secondary characters like Gregory and Santo, who sometimes feel more like plot devices than fully realized individuals
- Occasional overwriting in descriptive passages that can interrupt the novel’s otherwise elegant flow
The Daniel Means storyline, while providing the necessary plot resolution, feels somewhat rushed and relies too heavily on coincidence. His character—a mentally ill young man who leads Valerie off the trail—veers occasionally toward stereotype rather than the complexity found in the novel’s primary characters.
Roots and Branches: Comparisons to Other Works
Fans of Gaige’s previous work will recognize her talent for psychological depth and precise observation. Like Sea Wife, this novel explores a woman’s journey through both physical challenge and emotional reckoning. Like Schroder, it examines the complexity of parenthood and the stories we tell ourselves about our relationships.
Heartwood by Amity Gaige also invites comparison to other works exploring wilderness survival and human endurance, such as:
- Peter Heller’s The River in its tension between natural beauty and danger
- Cheryl Strayed’s Wild in its portrayal of a woman seeking renewal through hiking
- Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven in its interest in human connection amid isolation
Final Assessment: The View from the Summit
Heartwood by Amity Gaige is a deeply thoughtful novel that rewards careful reading. Gaige has crafted a work that functions effectively as both a suspenseful missing-person narrative and a literary exploration of connection, motherhood, and resilience. Her technical skill—particularly in managing multiple perspectives and rendering physical experiences with precision—is impressive throughout.
While the novel occasionally stretches credulity in service of its thematic goals, its emotional authenticity and beautiful prose make these moments forgivable. The resolution, when it comes, feels earned and resonant without being overly neat.
Strengths:
- Lyrical, precise prose
- Complex, well-developed female protagonists
- Vivid wilderness setting
- Thoughtful exploration of motherhood and connection
- Effective use of multiple perspectives
Weaknesses:
- Occasional pacing issues
- Some secondary characters lack depth
- Certain plot connections feel contrived
- Moments of overwriting
Who Should Read This Book?
Heartwood by Amity Gaige will appeal to readers who enjoy:
- Literary fiction with elements of suspense
- Strong female protagonists
- Wilderness settings and survival narratives
- Exploration of family relationships, particularly mother-daughter bonds
- Multiple perspective storytelling
Those seeking a straightforward thriller might find the novel’s pace and introspection challenging, but readers willing to follow Gaige’s more contemplative path will be rewarded with a rich, resonant experience.
Like the moss that fascinated Valerie in her darkest moments—capable of reviving after years of dormancy with just a sprinkle of water—Heartwood reminds us of our own surprising resilience and capacity for renewal, even after seasons of loss and separation. It’s a novel that, like its namesake, provides sturdy support for reflections on what truly sustains us.
