A gorgeously detailed novel in the tradition of Anna Quindlen, Rainey's Lament is the remarkable story of a young girl coming of age in rural Wisconsin in the 1980s, a world made up of two places: one for those who know grief, and the other for those who haven't yet experienced it.Bright, self-confident, red-headed Rainey McBride is born in a crowded locker room after a basketball game. Abandoned by her teenage mother, to be raised in the Midwest by stern Scandinavian grandparents, her longing for love and affection is fulfilled by her exotic second cousin Ambrose Torsten Dienst, a stylish, wealthy, would-be Danish prince embodying all the grace and glamour missing from Rainey's stolid small town life. Following their dramatic encounter at a Thanksgiving dinner in 1979, Rainey and Ambrose become blood brothers and swear their souls to protecting each other, a solemn vow that leads to devastating consequences years later.