Do You Remember Being Born?

Michaels (The Wagers; Us Conductors) writes a captivating tale of rural living in current-day Northern California. Ben is an itinerant farmer and former cannabis grower who lives with his successful novelist wife Ada on a farm in the foothills of the Sierra. Ben had previously reaped windfall profits growing cannabis, when there was money in the industry. Having fallen afoul of the law—ironically, by growing medical-use cannabis—he served a short stint in prison, causing a rift with his son Yoel, which has only now slowly started to heal. As readers learn about Ben, his community is upended by wildfire. Ben and family escape but suffer the loss of their barn and Ada’s current novel-in-progress. As the family recovers from the initial wildfire, Ben and Yoel’s relationship also starts to grow, and Ben’s grape crop, initially thought to be tainted by smoke, takes on new potential. Ben and Yoel and their friends become drawn into a local protest to combat climate change when their whole world changes again