Last Dream Standing, set in the early 1900's in Britain, evokes the emotional conflict of Sophie's Choice: how do we make an impossible choice when either outcome will break our heart? When all our tomorrows can't help but bear the footprint of our choice?  Last Dream Standing is about a young boy and his mum forced into such a position. 
     In a mining valley in old Wales, eight-year-old Stefan Ross's family is desperate for the birth of a new baby who will answer their prayers.  Garth Ross wants a son--a real son who will follow him into the mines and make him proud. Beca Ross, who has yet to discover her feist, wants to salvage the man she hopes she married; Stefan wants only to do what he loves: to draw crickets and caterpillars.
     But when little Howell is born, he does not answer their fervent prayers; instead, he shatters their dreams. He will never lift a pick, let along heave it at a seam of coal. When Garth, full of shame and anger, vows to take the baby to an adoption agency in London and be rid of him, Stefan and his mum are forced into a heartbreaking choice: losing Howell would be unbearable, but the alternative takes their breath away. Stefan and his mum are so desperate to protect Howie that they choose the unthinkable. They concoct a story that violates every fiber of their being; the lie can't possibly stand, and yet Stefan hears himself say "I promise." That promise--and its outcome--will follow Stefan for years. 
    "Where were you that morning?"
    The truth, sliding out in bits and pieces, will come out in war-torn Africa. Stefan, Beca and Garth will be reshaped, not to who they used to be, not to their lost dreams, but to who they needed to become.
    This story will appeal to mature readers who like the bucolic setting of "How Green Was My Valley" and the emotional punch of "Sophie's Choice."