Beneficence

In the midst of an idyllic life on a New England farm, the Senter family is shattered by an unimaginable tragedy that transforms everything they believed about love, safety, and goodness. Beneficence is a New York Times bestselling author Meredith Hall’s luminous exploration of how a family navigates the vast territory of grief to find their way back to one another.

This is a novel that understands the human heart with rare tenderness. Hall traces the Senters’ journey through loss with prose that critics have called “hewn, sinewy, with moments of electrifying beauty and grace” (Boston Globe). As the surviving family members grapple with sorrow and guilt, they slowly discover that healing doesn’t mean forgetting—it means learning to carry love forward, even when it feels impossible.

What makes this literary historical novel extraordinary is Hall’s compassionate understanding that grief is not a destination but a landscape we must learn to inhabit. Richard Russo calls it “luminous,” while Dani Shapiro names it “a modern American masterpiece.” The Washington Post praises how these voices from the past “speak so clearly to our time.”

Perfect for readers who loved Olive Kitteridge or The Dutch House, this Maine author’s work resonates with anyone who has faced loss and wondered how to find their way back to wholeness. Beneficence is a quiet gem that lingers long after the final page—a testament to resilience, forgiveness, and the enduring bonds of family.

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