THE OAK TREE

The oak tree: not interested in cherry blossoms.Hanako Thompson has spent years holding her family together. While she works three jobs in Las Vegas, her husband, Willie, pursues the next winning hand-the one he believes will erase every debt and make him the man his family once trusted.Then the rent money disappears.As Willie's gambling spirals beyond excuses and their seventeen-year-old daughter, Vega, conceals dangers of her own, Hanako can no longer protect everyone from the truth. Guided by an outspoken elderly woman and a deceptively simple haiku, she begins to question the life she has built around endurance.When one terrible night brings the family to its breaking point, each of them must confront what recovery truly demands. Willie must learn that remorse is not the same as change. Vega must separate her real self from the flawless life she displays to the world. And Hanako must decide whether forgiveness requires reunion-or whether love can survive without surrender.Set against the seductive lights of Las Vegas, The Oak Tree is a moving contemporary novel about addiction, marriage, motherhood, and the difficult courage of beginning again. It asks a powerful question: How can we remain connected to those we love without losing ourselves?