Elephants & Moonlight
A Characters & Candles Box
Leah Fern has decided to end it all…until a knock at the door changes everything. As she shares a plate of cookies with the quirky lawyer who appears at her door, he hands her a mystery in the form of a bejeweled urn and a letter.
That letter provides an answer to questions from Leah’s past and instructions on where she can find the next letter and more of the answers she craves.
Now she’ll have to learn to trust, and maybe even love herself as she uncovers the truth of her past and the mother who left her behind.
- Fantastic, dramatic beginning
- A scavenger hunt for answers
- The road trip of all road trips
- Friendship and sacrifice
- Just a touch of magic and fate
- V. E. Schwab, Audrey Niffenegger, and Aimee Bender
- Coming of age stories that include themes of self-love, healing, and empowerment
- Multiple storylines for the same character
$59.99
What's Inside This Box?
The Book
Born in a carnival trailer, Leah Fern begins her life as the “The Youngest and Very Best Fortuneteller in the World,” taking strangers’ hands and feeling the depths of their emotions. Her mother Jeannie Starr is a captivating magician, but not always an attentive mother, and when Leah is six, Jeannie upends their carnival life with an unexpected exit. With little fanfare and no explanation, she leaves her daughter at the home of Edward Murphy, a kindly older man with whom Leah shares one fierce wish: that Jeannie Starr will return to them.
After fifteen years as a small-town outcast , Leah decides to end her life on the occasion of her twenty-first birthday. But the intricate death ritual she has devised is interrupted by a surprise knock on her door. Her mysterious neighbor, the curmudgeonly and reclusive art photographer Essie East, has died and left Leah a very strange inheritance. Through a series of letters, Essie will posthumously lead Leah on a journey to nine points on the map, spanning from an island in Wisconsin to an island in the Arctic Circle—a journey that, the first note promises, will reveal the story of Leah’s mother.
Driven by a ferocious resurgence of hope, Leah embarks on this bizarre treasure hunt, Essie’s ashes in a jeweled urn in the passenger seat of her truck. Along her way, she visits islands, libraries, diners, and defunct ice cream parlors, meeting a charming cast of eccentric characters and immersing herself in wonders of the natural world.
An enchanting novel about the transcendent powers of the imagination, the magic of the threshold between past and present, and the courage it takes to love, The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern explores the unlikely, at times adversarial, and ultimately redemptive relationship between a young woman who has forgotten how to live and a dead woman who summons her to remember.
Genre: Women’s Fiction/Literary Fiction
Published: October 2022
The Goodies
Ritual Candle
Have you ever stood, looking up at the moon, and felt both big and small, connected and independent? If such a place and time had a smell, we imagine it would be this with notes of palo santo, lavender, and white sage.
Elephant Car Charm
Whether it’s a road trip – long, spiraling, and as ambitious as Leah’s -, a quick errand, or the commute to work, the bright tinkle of these car charms will add some fun and character to the drive.
Elephant Trunk Wallet
Add a bit of whimsy to your travels with this vintage elephant trunk wallet in your bag or pocket. Practical, with just enough room for the essentials, you won’t be able to keep from smiling every time you see this little face looking up at you.
Lavender Loofah Soap
Lavender, much like Essie and Leah, is hearty. It can thrive despite neglect or poor growing conditions. But like these two strong women, the effect it has on those around them is both potent and memorable.
Totally Taffy Assortment
Memories can often feel a lot like taffy. Sometimes a little hard, often sweet, and like this bag, they come in a variety of different flavors. And, if you are anything like us, once you get a taste of one, it’s hard not to indulge in more.
The Good Cause
We will donate a portion of the profits of this box to the Great Spirit Animal Sanctuary, a non-profit located in Snowflake, AZ dedicated to providing a permanent home for unwanted, neglected and abused animals.
This organization provides a permanent home to animals on Sanctuary land. Their mission is saving dogs, horses, cats, donkeys, goats, pigs, poultry and other animals as needed from unnecessary euthanasia and slaughter just because they cannot find a permanent home.
Great Spirit Animal Sanctuary provides them a permanent safe home for life.
Other Boxes You Might Enjoy
Finding Happy & Staying Sassy
Cakes, Pies, & Half-Baked Lies
Rose Petals & Crow Feathers
It’s All About Cider
Elephants & Moonlight
Leah Fern has decided to end it all…until a knock at the door changes everything. Now she’ll have to learn to trust, and maybe even love, herself as she uncovers the truth of her past and the mother who left her behind.
This box includes:
- The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern by Rita Zoey Chin
- Ritual Candle from Fjord and Fable
- Elephant Car Chime from Jacob’s Musical Chimes
- Elephant Trunk Vintage Wallet from Slim Fancy
- Totally Taffy Assortment from Sweet Pete’s Candy
- Lavender Loofah from The Dallas Soap Company
- A themed bookmark
Plus, for each box purchased we’ll donate a portion of the proceeds to The Great Spirit Animal Sanctuary, a non-profit in Snowflake, AZ dedicated to providing a permanent home for unwanted, neglected and abused animals.
$59.99
The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern
Rita Zoey Chin
Born in a carnival trailer, Leah Fern begins her life as the “The Youngest and Very Best Fortuneteller in the World,” taking strangers’ hands and feeling the depths of their emotions. Her mother Jeannie Starr is a captivating magician, but not always an attentive mother, and when Leah is six, Jeannie upends their carnival life with an unexpected exit. With little fanfare and no explanation, she leaves her daughter at the home of Edward Murphy, a kindly older man with whom Leah shares one fierce wish: that Jeannie Starr will return to them.
After fifteen years as a small-town outcast , Leah decides to end her life on the occasion of her twenty-first birthday. But the intricate death ritual she has devised is interrupted by a surprise knock on her door. Her mysterious neighbor, the curmudgeonly and reclusive art photographer Essie East, has died and left Leah a very strange inheritance. Through a series of letters, Essie will posthumously lead Leah on a journey to nine points on the map, spanning from an island in Wisconsin to an island in the Arctic Circle—a journey that, the first note promises, will reveal the story of Leah’s mother.
Driven by a ferocious resurgence of hope, Leah embarks on this bizarre treasure hunt, Essie’s ashes in a jeweled urn in the passenger seat of her truck. Along her way, she visits islands, libraries, diners, and defunct ice cream parlors, meeting a charming cast of eccentric characters and immersing herself in wonders of the natural world.
An enchanting novel about the transcendent powers of the imagination, the magic of the threshold between past and present, and the courage it takes to love, The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern explores the unlikely, at times adversarial, and ultimately redemptive relationship between a young woman who has forgotten how to live and a dead woman who summons her to remember.
Genre: Women’s Fiction/Literary Fiction
Published: October 2022
Other Boxes You Might Enjoy
Finding Happy & Staying Sassy
Cakes, Pies, & Half-Baked Lies
Rose Petals & Crow Feathers