" State of Grace is, sadly, the last beautiful, moving achievement from a woman whose wit, intelligence, and loving humanity can be felt on every page of all her books." —George Hodgman, author of Bettyville Birdie Holloway is a typical eleven-year-old growing up in a small, corn-fed Kansas town in the early 1980s—that is until her best friend, Grace, is brutally murdered. Suddenly, everything changes for Birdie, and everything she believes she knows about her insulated small-town life is called into question. Obsessed in figuring out who killed her friend, Birdie spends years trying to find the murderer. Eventually, she connects with someone who is every bit as interested in the case as she is. Someone who knows how close she is to solving the murder. Someone who will kill again to keep her quiet . . . Sandra Moran was an author and assistant adjunct professor of anthropology. Her debut novel , Letters Never Sent , was a finalist for the 2013 Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction. Revisions on State of Grace , her final novel, were completed in September 2015. Less than a month later, she was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. She passed away on November 7, 2015. " State of Grace is, sadly, the last beautiful, moving achievement from a woman whose wit, intelligence, and loving humanity can be felt on every page of all her books."—George Hodgman, author of Bettyville " State of Grace is, sadly, the last beautiful, moving achievement from a woman whose wit, intelligence, and loving humanity can be felt on every page of all her books."―George Hodgman, author of Bettyville Birdie Holloway is a typical eleven-year-old growing up in a small, corn-fed Kansas town in the early 1980s&;that is until her best friend, Grace, is brutally murdered. Suddenly, everything changes for Birdie, and everything she believes she knows about her insulated small town life is called into question. Obsessed in figuring out who killed her friend, Birdie spends years trying to find the murderer. Eventually, she connects with someone who is every bit as interested in the case as she is. Someone who knows how close she is to solving the murder. Someone who will kill again to keep her quiet. Sandra Moran authored the critically acclaimed novels Letters Never Sent , Nudge , The Addendum , and All We Lack . Final revisions on State of Grace , the first novel written, but the last to be published, were completed in September 2015. Less than a month later, she was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. She passed away in early November. Bywater Books, in concert with her spouse, Cheryl Pletcher, has published the complete manuscript as it was written. Birdie Holloway is a typical eleven-year-old growing up in a small, corn-fed Kansas town in the early 1980s—that is until her best friend, Grace, is brutally murdered. Suddenly, everything changes for Birdie, and everything she believes she knows about her insulated small town life is called into question. Obsessed in figuring out who killed her friend, Birdie spends years trying to find the murderer. Eventually, she connects with someone who is every bit as interested in the case as she is. Someone who knows how close she is to solving the murder. Someone who will kill again to keep her quiet. Sandra Moran authored the critically acclaimed novels Letters Never Sent , Nudge , The Addendum , and All We Lack . Final revisions on State of Grace , the first novel written, but the last to be published, were completed in September 2015. Less than a month later, she was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. She passed away in early November. Bywater Books, in concert with her spouse, Cheryl Pletcher, has published the complete manuscript as it was written. Sandra Moran was an author and assistant adjunct professor of anthropology at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas. A native Kansan, she worked professionally as a newspaper journalist, a political speechwriter, and an archaeological tour manager. In her novels, she strived to create flawed characters struggling to find themselves within the cultural constructs of gender, religion and sexuality. Moran authored the critically acclaimed novels Letters Never Sent , Nudge , The Addendum , and All We Lack . Revisions on State of Grace , her final novel, were completed in September 2015. Less than a month later, she was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. She passed away on November 7, 2015.