By Grace Alone (Paperback)

Hurricane Katrina has devastated New Orleans. Homes are crushed, streets are flooded, and a piece of Vivienne Lavoie's spirit has been swept away with the receding waters as she works diligently to put her beloved city back together. It's her job as a civil engineer, but she also feels it's her responsibility to ensure her heritage isn't lost in the murky waters of the Mississippi, for her Cajun blood runs thick as the courtbouillion her Memere made when she was just a child. An unexpected pregnancy forces Vivienne to choose between the city she loves, or the child she never expected. While debating giving the baby up for adoption, she meets Charlie and Samuel. Both men are trying desperately to sort through their own struggles. Charlie has to come to terms with his own identity and the past that drove him from his hometown to the anonymity of New Orleans' streets. Sam is learning to accept that he and his wife may never have children of their own. Through their friendship with Vivienne they discover the myths and legends that give New Orleans its mystique and find that they're able to feel normal again. She makes their struggles seem bearable, until a tragic death brings their spirits crashing down again and forces them to reevaluate everything. It is then that they are able to begin their personal rebirths and find happiness, love, and above all, hope.