A few days after her mother's funeral, Maddy sat alone on top of a hilly ridge in rural Pennsylvania. Birds sang and squirrels scurried across the green grass and up the blooming trees. Spring brought forth new life, if only her life could be so easily renewed. What am I doing here? The late-afternoon breeze whipped through her hair, and she wished the wind could blow away all the bad memories surrounding this secluded place.

She didn't want to be here at her childhood home. ...