The Cup

The cup was already waiting when he entered the room.

After a lifetime of work, an artist buys a home where his mother can rest and his family can gather. Recovering from a devastating accident, he turns to his older sister, Dena, for help. Whatever has passed between them, he still wants to believe she loves him.

But after their mother’s death, the house grows cold. Relatives turn away. Conversations stop when he enters. Then Dena offers an evening by the fire and a cup of black-cherry tea.

The illness that follows forces him to reconsider far more than what he drank. Small cruelties he spent a lifetime explaining away begin to look different. Yet accepting what he suspects means giving up the sister he has never stopped hoping for.

How does he reclaim his life when the person he fears is someone he has always loved?

Inspired by events in the author’s life, The Cup is a novel about family betrayal, the cost of misplaced trust, and the difficult work of learning to trust oneself.