We Were Pretending — Hannah Gersen

The lure of an old friendship takes a woman in a bold new direction—away from a life she never wanted—in this tensely plotted novel of second, and third, chances.Leigh Bowers has never felt more alone. After being caught illegally administering Hecate’s Key—a medicinal mushroom that brings peace to terminally ill patients—Leigh has lost her mother, her job, her marriage, and primary custody of her daughter. But Leigh’s life takes a hairpin turn when Jennifer Hex, an enigmatic woman from her past, reemerges.Jennifer, a guru attuned to transcendent earthly wonders, crossing paths with a lost woman like Leigh after all this time? It’s providence. Jennifer has a plan to fulfill both their lives: they’ll flee to the Canadian forest, live off the grid, commune with nature, and harvest the rare palliative mushrooms. It’s everything Leigh has been yearning for—a connection, a purpose, a spiritual confessor, and an adventure.But as Leigh becomes more and more enchanted with Jennifer’s extreme proposal, she wonders how well she really knows her old friend. Is Jennifer truly offering a blissful mind-body woodland escape, or is it a dangerous, ill-conceived plan that will upend Leigh’s life all over again?