About Drawn from Life by Sarah P. Blanchard:
Emma Harnett, 19, lives in western North Carolina with her volatile cousin Lucy, a frustrated artist with an alcoholic mother. When Lucy’s mother disappears unexpectedly, Lucy flies into a rage, bullying and injuring Emma.
Days later, they argue about who should drive down the mountain for food and supplies: Emma with a broken collarbone; or Lucy, who might be drunk. Their car crashes and three people die. Emma barely survives. Lucy, uninvolved and uninjured, vanishes.
Eight years later, Emma finds peace and purpose as bookkeeper and model for her deceased uncle’s legacy project, Stonefall Art Center. She still struggles with night terrors, physical pain, a speech impairment, memory loss, and the shame of an accidental killer.
Lucy returns, bringing chaos and needing money. Emma decides to bargain with her prodigal cousin: money, for truth about the crash.
Tensions escalate after vandalism at the art center, and suspicion falls on Lucy as Emma tries to learn whether the attacks are related to the crash.
A compassionate detective helps Emma recall fragments of memory. Was Lucy the driver, not her? The investigations require Emma to find courage and a new voice.
Another person may hold a key: Chaz, the son of the woman who died in the crash. An awkward foster-care kid, he’s Stonefall’s new handyman. He keeps a close eye on Emma, whom he remembers from childhood.
When Emma’s questions come too close to the truth, Lucy makes plans to remove Emma from Stonefall.
Emma finally fights back, and in the “accident” that Lucy has orchestrated, it’s she—not Emma—who falls.
With nothing left to lose, Lyssa finally shares the story that absolves Emma of guilt in the long-ago crash. Emma also learns how Chaz, the boy in the background, helped save her life.
Throughout, help comes from unexpected sources: the family lawyer, keeper of family secrets; a miniature schnauzer named for a notorious pirate; and of course the sympathetic detective who helps Emma find her refuge—and perhaps a chance at love.
