We Need No Wings

(Paperback)

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Description

Teresa Sanchez, a direct descendent of St. Teresa of vila, finds herself lost after her retirement...until the day she begins to levitate. To be free, we must learn to fly. Tere Sanchez has always known who she was- a professor, a wife, a mother, and a friend. But when her husband dies unexpectedly, she finds herself completely broken. Taking a leave from the university, Tere hopes that she can mourn her husband and get back on her feet, but instead, she spends a year consumed by grief. Until the day she levitates. Suddenly, Tere's life is thrown into disarray, and the repeated incidents of levitation not only make her question her sanity, but also put her in danger. She decides she will do anything to stop them. So when she's reminded that her family is related to the renowned levitating mystic, Saint Teresa of Avila, she leaves the refuge of her home and travels to Spain, hoping to find answers. But Saints can be elusive, and not all answers are easily found. Tere will soon have to decide whether to remain shrouded in her grief, or open her heart to a world where we need no wings to fly... From the award-winning author of The Storyteller's Death comes a riveting, multicultural story about what it means to love, heal, and take flight.

Reviews

"Ann Dvila Cardinal's We Need No Wings beautifully articulates an older woman's life, her grief over the loss of her husband, her frustration with the sexism and racism in her professional life, her need to reinvent herself--the landscape so many of us aging boomers are traveling in our lives or will travel. Cardinal magically weaves pilgrimage, levitation, a 16th century mystic, a journey to heal and recover into an elegantly structured novel. We need No Wings is a 21st century older woman's quest that will inspire readers to consider what lies at the latter end of their lives. Spoiler alert: possibility, hope and love. We need more novels that deepen our understanding of these later stages of a woman's life and put wings of hope on our hearts. The book soars, her best so far, a transcendent read." -- Julia Alvarez, internationally bestselling and award-winning author
"From the very first sentence, you know that Ann Dvila Cardinal's We Need No Wings is a story for the ages. Tere Sanchez is a grieving widow, a loving mother, a brilliant professor and, oh yeah, she levitates. This novel explores the inexorable pull of blood ties, the power of ancestral homecomings, and one woman's transcendent journey into selfhood. Sassy, smart, humorous, and deeply affecting, this book will make you want to fly." -- Connie May Fowler, Author of Before Women had Wings
"Ann Dvila Cardinal expands the reach of the beloved Santa Teresa de vila with this exquisite novel about a woman who learns that all journeys lead back to the broken heart. We Need No Wings is masterful storytelling--tender, funny, original, and sharp." -- Rigoberto Gonzlez
"Poignant, witty, and downright refreshing, We Need No Wings will crack open your mind and heart to show you how grief can help us live, doubt can make us trust, and change can bring us back to our true selves. I cried, I laughed, I desperately wanted to visit Spain with Tere Snchez. This novel is pure magic." -- Eden Robins, author of Remember You Will Die
"An unflinching examination of grief through the eyes of an extraordinary woman. With humor and sensitivity, Ann Davila Cardinal weaves a potent narrative that demonstrates the resilience of women, who are more than their roles in the family--and that the third act of life can be a vibrant new beginning." -- Dawn Kurtagich, author of The Madness

Author Bio

Ann Davila Cardinal is a novelist and Director of Recruitment for Vermont College of Fine Arts where she also earned her MFA in Writing. She comes from a long line of Puerto Rican writers, including father and son poets Virgilio and Jose Antonio Davila, and her cousin, award-winning fiction writer Tere Davila. Ann's first novel, Sister Chicas, was co-written with Jane Alberdeston Coralin and Lisa Alvarado, and was released from New American Library. Her next novel, a horror young adult work titled Five Midnights, was released by Tor Teen on June 4, 2019. The story continues in Category Five, also from Tor Teen, released on June 2, 2020. Ann lives in Vermont where she cycles, knits, and prepares for the zombie apocalypse.