One amazing year in a remarkable woman¹s life journey becomes the inspiration for generations when she takes a huge risk, follows her heart, embraces forbidden love, and unwittingly becomes the champion of a winged world that is on the brink of extinction. It’s 1903, the world is poised for drastic change, and Julia Briton is a naive, beautiful Boston socialite who suffers a series of devastating losses and discovers that her beloved husband is involved in the plume trade—the massive slaughter of birds for use in the fashion industry. When Julia is secretly ushered into the early 20th century by a group of brazen female activists, she boldly risks everything and embarks on a perilous journey to the wilds of untamed Florida, a place of great danger where men will stop at nothing to get what they want and where one man, and a faithful friend, force her to make yet more life-changing decisions. Years later, when Julia’s great-granddaughter, Kelly, discovers some hidden tape recordings in her famous great-grandmother¹s dresser and learns the real truth about Julia’s year, a year that changed the course of history, she must decide what to do with her grandmother¹s incredible legacy. Will she keep the real “secret of the year”, or will she be brave enough to follow her own heart?

USA Best Book Awards: Fiction: Historical, Finalist

About The Author

Kris Radish

Kris Radish is the best-selling author of twelve novels and three works of non-fiction. Her empowering books focus on the very real issues women face in their lives, and she celebrates the important and amazing power of female friendship via her novels and with the yearly retreats she holds for women. Radish lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Product Details

Publisher: SparkPress (August 11, 2015)
Length: 342 pages
ISBN13: 9781940716510
Ages: 16 - 100

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Raves and Reviews

2016 International Book Awards: Finalist, Historical Fiction
2015 USA Book Awards: Finalist, Historical Fiction
“As in her previous best-selling novels (A Grand Day To Get Lost), Radish weaves an engaging story of inspiring women who discover the importance of being true to one’s ideal”
—Library Journal

"The Year of Necessary Lies is a memorable and beautifully written story about reinvention, standing up for your beliefs, and staying true to yourself, no matter what the cost.”
—Kristin Contino, author of The Legacy of Us

"Feminism and activism go hand in hand in this romantic novel about women’s empowerment and living life to the fullest. Kris Radish's tenth novel, The Year of Necessary Lies, highlights women's role in the Audubon Society campaign to eradicate feathers from ladies’ hats. Her fictional heroine is a composite portrait of the many courageous women who stood up to plume hunters and the fashion industry alike in the early years of the twentieth century.
Radish creates an authentic Southern atmosphere dripping with sweat and packed with rattlesnakes and egrets. Julia’s raucous boat journey, punctuated by an erroneous stop at a Savannah brothel, is a highlight. She is a compelling protagonist, ably supported by an eccentric cast of ex-hunters and coastal hermits. Cameos from historical figures ranging from William Randolph Hearst to Mark Twain help place Julia in a convincing turn-of-the-century context of change and creativity. Recommended to fans of Anita Diamant's The Boston Girl and Sue Monk Kidd’s The Invention of Wings."
—Foreword Reviews

Praise for Kris Radish

“Radish unrolls a rollicking yet reflective read that adds to her robust repertoire of beloved fiction. What’s a reader to do but relish the ride.”
—BookPage on Searching for Paradise in Parker, PA

“Kris Radish creates characters that seek and then celebrate the discovery of women’s innate power.”
—The Denver Post

“Radish’s characters know how to have a good time on their way to matriarchal nirvana.”
—Kirkus Reviews