Playing Cello for the Trees

Edith Small is on a mission. At the age of seventy-five, she faces the ultimate deadline: to finish her life’s work before her time is up. Only three tasks remain on her “Lifetime List of Things To Do.” She must find her high-school sweetheart, watch a sunrise and sunset on a Greek island, and learn to fly an airplane. When she finishes, she intends to fulfill the vow that she made years earlier to live well – and to die well. Ambitious young journalist Lucy Hunt is assigned to follow Edith and write about her for their hometown newspaper. From Oregon to Vermont, New York City, the Greek Island of Santorini, and finally the shores of California, Edith and Lucy take on one adventure after another. Along the way, Lucy examines her own convictions, fears, and identity, and what it means to be a writer of true stories in a complex, changing world. As Edith races to complete her lifetime list, Lucy watches with disbelief and fear to see how her heroine’s story will end.