Thomas Singer is eleven years old. Soon, on his twelfth birthday, his father will present him with his first shotgun and take him on his first deer hunting trip. Thomas longed to go hunting all his young life, until the day he saw poachers shooting a deer, until the day he meet Emma.

With Emma's guidance, Thomas learns to heal and communicate with animals-forcing him to realize he could never kill one. Now his whole world is turned upside down. He loves his father and doesn't want to disappoint him; in his father's eyes, being a man is to go hunting with men. But his birthday is coming fast, and soon he will have to choose.

In the tradition of Where the Red Fern Grows and Old Yeller, The Healer of Harrow Point is a classic coming-of-age story in which a young boy learns the beauty of life, the folly of violence, and the secrets of true friendship.

Amazon.com Review
Poet, book reviewer, and National Public Radio essayist Peter Walpole's first book touches the hearts of young and old. Easy enough to read for most pre-teens, yet tight and engaging enough for the more mature, The Healer of Harrow Point is a value-teaching book of real merit. Like Old Yeller or The Education of Little Tree, it's a classic coming-of-age tale that presents freshman-level metaphysical concepts such as intention, immortality, and "the oneness of all beings" in a down-to-earth, understandable fashion. Parents who hope to warn their teenager about the danger of firearms or the negative effects of seeking peer-group approval will find this an excellent choice. But be warned: anyone who picks up The Healer of Harrow Point will find that it's impossible to put down. If a movie studio hasn't purchased the movie rights yet, they should--Healer has an action- and emotion-packed plot that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. --P. Randall Cohan