Nearly Beloved: a novel

Releases November 4, 2025

Synopsis

In this captivating novel, a DNA test turns a woman’s world upside-down. Will searching for answers give her the peace she craves—or deepen the fractures in her life?

On the day of her father’s funeral, Dylan Turner receives a life-altering email: her DNA family tree results saying her dad isn’t who she thought he is. The news sends Dylan spiraling, but when she turns to her mom for answers, she’s left with only more agonizing questions.

Determined to learn the truth, Dylan reaches for clues and finds herself traveling across the country with a friendly face from work, away from the safety of her carefully maintained routine. She dives deeper into her family’s tangled web of secrets, reaches out to a newly discovered relative, and encounters a familiar face from her past—one she isn’t sure is a solace or an obstacle. Along the way, she aches to know: If she’s not Darren Turner’s daughter, who is she? Why didn’t her mom tell her? And, is the stability of a lie ever more important than the pain of knowing the truth?

Told from Dylan’s perspective and woven with emails, interviews, texts, and journal entries, Nearly Beloved puts all the pieces together in a heartfelt and unique story about finding answers—even if they weren’t the ones you were expecting.