Ashes of the Harvest

In the forgotten village of Einderveld—where rust grows faster than crops and silence has replaced song—fifteen-year-old Mira Verhoeven is learning how to survive in the cracks of what once was. Once a proud farming town, Einderveld is now crumbling under the weight of lost harvests and broken promises. Jobs have vanished. Hope is a rumor. And inside a weather-worn farmhouse, Mira lives with a father she loves fiercely—but who disappears into drugs more often than he does her eyes. Thomas Verhoeven was once a strong man, full of laughter and sun-drenched stories. Now, he’s a ghost in his own home. Mira shoulders the silence, the shame, and the secret. She lies to classmates, scrubs the floor clean of evidence, and tucks him in with trembling hands. Her mother works long hours, barely speaking. It's as if the whole house has learned to whisper. But Mira is not hollow—not yet. She writes. She folds paper cranes. She dreams of other worlds. And when a small spark appears in the form of a quiet boy named Jonas, and a chance to share her voice beyond the village, she begins to ask: What if I deserve more than surviving? As her father’s addiction deepens, Mira must face the hardest truth of all—that love isn’t always enough to save someone. And sometimes, the only way to save yourself is to walk away from the ones you want to rescue. Ashes of the Harvest is a tender, gripping coming-of-age novel about the heavy roots of family, the quiet power of courage, and the wings we grow when we choose to rise.