The Story She Left Behind—The Cocktail Edition

Ron Block's Signature Cocktail in Honor of Patti's New Book

We tasked our resident mixologist, Ron Block with creating a special libation in honor of Patti Callahan Henry’s new book (out tomorrow!), The Story She Left Behind. Inspired by England’s lush Lake District, we present you with the Lake District Foraged Nettle Gimlet. Did you see our show last Wednesday? If not, you’ll have to tune in to watch Ron demo this magnificent creation live on the air.

Lake District Foraged Nettle Gimlet

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup dried Nettle Leaves (available online)
2 oz Gin
Dash of Orange Bitters

INSTRUCTIONS:
Combine 1 cup water with one cup sugar, heating just until sugar dissolves, but not boiling. Add the nettles and combine, heating again to just before boiling. Set aside to cool.

When cooled, strain syrup through a fine sieve or cheesecloth to remove any remaining nettle pieces.

Combine gin, 2 oz of syrup,, and a few drops of bitters and shake in an ice-filled cocktail shaker.

Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a lemon wedge and a sprig of mint or thyme.

Enjoy!

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About the Book

Indie Next April 2025 Pick • LibraryReads March 2025 Pick

“Brilliant, riveting, so beautifully written, impossible to put down.”
—Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Inspired by a true literary mystery, New York Times bestselling author of the mesmerizing The Secret Book of Flora Lea returns with the sweeping story of a legendary book, a lost mother, and a daughter’s search for them both.

In 1927, eight-year-old Clara Harrington’s magical childhood shatters when her mother, renowned author, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, disappears off the coast of South Carolina. Bronwyn stunned the world with a book written in an invented language that became a national sensation when she was just twelve years old. Her departure leaves behind not only a devoted husband and heartbroken daughter, but also the hope of ever translating the sequel to her landmark work. As the headlines focus on the missing author, Clara yearns for something far deeper and more insatiable: her beautiful mother.

By 1952, Clara is an illustrator raising her own daughter, Wynnie. When a stranger named Charlie Jameson contacts her from London claiming to have discovered a handwritten dictionary of her mother’s lost language. Clara is skeptical. Compelled by the tragedy of her mother’s vanishing, she crosses the Atlantic with Wynnie only to arrive during one of London’s most deadly natural disasters—the Great Smog. With asthmatic Wynnie in peril, they escape the city with Charlie and find refuge in the Jameson’s family retreat nestled in the Lake District. It is there that Clara must find the courage to uncover the truth about her mother and the story she left behind.

Told in Patti Callahan Henry’s lyrical, enchanting prose, The Story She Left Behind is a captivating novel of mystery and family legacy that captures the profound longing for a mother and the evergreen allure of secrets.

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About the Author

Patti Callahan Henry is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of eighteen novels, including The Secret Book of Flora Lea, Surviving Savannah and Becoming Mrs. Lewis. She is the recipient of the Christy Award, the Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer of the Year, and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year. She lives in Alabama and South Carolina with her family. Find out more at PattiCallahanHenry.com.

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