When Katrina, a 46-year-old Midwestern mother of four, becomes consumed with feelings for her female Pilates instructor, she begins to understand that she is and always has been gay. Her husband, Charles, suggests they open up their 20+ year marriage, which appears to be a reasonable solution to their dilemma. But when Charles and Katrina have different ideas of what an open marriage should look like and how they should navigate their relationships both together and individually, the cracks in their white-picket-fence life are hit with a hurricane-force fury.
Lies. Threats. Abuse. Gaslighting. An involuntary psych ward commitment. Can their marriage survive so many betrayals? Should it?
Hurricane Lessons is for everyone who realizes it is never too late—even in a world that insists you adhere to cultural norms and expectations—to be authentically, unapologetically who you were born to be.
Katrina Anne Willis's debut novel, Parting Gifts, was published in 2016. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Huffington Post, YourTango, and Mamalode, as well as in numerous anthologies. She was named one of six distinguished authors at the 2016 Indianapolis Book & Author Luncheon, was a BlogHer Voice of the Year in 2015, and was a 2011 Midwest Writers Fellow. A mother of four quirky and fun adults and two high-anxiety, special needs rescue dogs, Katrina currently writes @surrenderingtosappho on Substack and resides with her partner, Julie, in Lexington, Kentucky.
