Ledger of the Open Hand

Ledger of the Open Hand looks at the intimate power of money and emotional debt through the eyes of a young woman trying to own her life. 

Worlds collide when cautious, small-town Meriel-Claire meets her well-heeled college roommate—the self-assured, charismatic Daneen. The two form an improbable friendship. But as Meriel becomes beholden to her shrewd friend, and as Daneen insinuates herself into Meriel’s family, recording their dramas in her notebooks, suspicions and deficits start to accumulate. 

Meriel eventually finds her calling as a debt counsellor, but straightening out accounts for strangers is far easier than reconciling her own complicated relationships. After years of allegiance, through family tragedy and heartbreak, an astonishing discovery will force Merial to Reconsider the high cost of loyalty.

With wit and remarkable insight, this debut novel takes a fresh look at the fictions we create around our relationships and our tendency to treat love as a balance sheet.