About the Book

Book: The Broken Weathervane Author: Laura DeNooyer Genre: Women’s fiction, dual timeline fiction, literary fiction, book club fiction Release Date: September 2, 2025

Two co-workers seek the same information. One wants to publish it; the other has good reasons to keep it hidden. As Leslie Wickersham, Raymond University grants officer, seeks information to unravel a family mystery, English professor Gregory Stafford seeks an elusive interview with one more Buckwalter relative for his upcoming author biography. While Greg and Leslie guard coveted details from each other, her goals are further complicated by letters of blackmail threatening to reveal all she has worked hard to hide. In this dual timeline novel alternating between 2015 and the 1950s, loyalty is tested and secrets abound when family honor collides with truth. Leslie grapples with the trade-off: how far will a person go to help a loved one thrive?

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About the Author

Laura DeNooyer thrives on creativity and encouraging it in others. A Calvin College graduate, she is a teacher, wife, parent of four adult children, and an award-winning author of heart-warming historical and contemporary fiction. Her novels are perfect for fans of Patti Callahan Henry, Erin Bartels, or Amanda Cox. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her reading, walking, drinking tea with friends, or taking a road trip.

More from Laura

The Shame of Silence In the 1950s, nobody talked openly about mental illness. We think it’s stigmatized today; it was worse then. When a family member is physically ill or in an accident, folks will line up outside your door to bring comfort or casseroles. It’s an easily shared prayer request. But when a family member has an episode related to mental illness, it’s shrouded in secrecy and shame. Thus, the people most needing prayers and support don’t get them. That’s the experience of Fritz, Eddie, and Klara Buckwalter in the 1950s timeline of The Broken Weathervane. Leave It to Beaver Television in the 1950s became a household word with its daily entertainment. Sitcoms included Danny Thomas’s Make Room for Daddy, I Love Lucy, Our Miss Brooks, and Father Knows Best. Variety shows like The Ed Sullivan Show along with comedy shows featuring George Burns, Jack Benny, and Red Skelton had viewers laughing in living rooms across America. But those shows illuminated the lighter side of life. Today, we fondly embrace the innocence and nostalgia of Leave It to Beaver. But that’s far-fetched from everyday realities. Especially for those plagued by mental illness. Old Dog, New Tricks In the 2015 timeline, two co-workers are at cross purposes—both seeking the same information for different reasons. When my protagonist Leslie Wickersham is hired as the grants officer at Raymond University, she doesn’t count on having to teach an old dog new tricks. By dog, I mean the brassy, pretentious English professor, Dr. Gregory Stafford—who isn’t all that old, but is behind the times. The dean expects Leslie to drag Greg into the 21st century via social media, something Greg has relegated to the annals of Hogwash and Absurdity. Their proximity becomes her chance to pick his brain for nuggets from his upcoming biography of local author Linus Fritz Buckwalter. But she can’t let him know that Fritz is her great-uncle. Or that the one last interview Greg is holding out for—Klara Buckwalter—is Leslie’s grandmother. Due to Klara’s silence, Leslie hopes Greg holds the key to knowledge about the family rift. Answers start appearing when Klara gives Leslie her 1950s diary. The answers are shocking—but also contradict Greg’s research. If you appreciate stories with:

small town family secrets
family drama
dual timelines (2015 and 1950s)
moral dilemmas
family loyalty vs. honesty
an honest, tender treatment of mental illness

. . . then this story will touch your heart. My hope is that book club discussions will help increase understanding, transparency, and empathy for those who suffer. Open dialogue about mental illness is that important first step toward reducing the stigma associated with it. The Broken Weathervane is the perfect catalyst for that.

Interview with the Author

If a reader were to ask you what author you are like, what would you answer?

I would say my writing style is most like Erin Bartels for her literary quality and not confining herself to genre formulas. Additionally, people have told me my writing is similar to Amanda Cox, due to the layered, character-driven stories. The dual timelines I’ve written are reminiscent of Amanda Wen or Melanie Dobson’s style (so I’ve been told!).

Since I gravitate to reading the kind of novels I like to write, I love the novels of Katie Powner with their simple rural and small-town settings populated by down-to-earth, three-dimensional characters. I also enjoy the contemporary and historical fiction of Patti Callahan Henry.

Like the novels of the authors mentioned above, my characters have complicated relationships and messy family dynamics. I like delving into the gray, murky areas of life, into false appearances and misjudgments. My stories serve food for thought as well as hope and second chances—tales that “redeem the years the locusts ate.”

What is your favorite book and why?

To Kill a Mockingbird is my all-time favorite book. Thought-provoking, the story embodies complex characters and relationships, challenging themes, a historical setting, and a plot that builds to a dramatic and rewarding finish. This is what I aim for as a fiction writer.

What inspired you to write this book?

My dad shared a family story about his father and uncle who were in business together with their youngest brother who struggled quite a bit. The two older brothers did everything in their power to help him succeed in his own businesses and later let him work at theirs. I loved the way they cared for him despite all the difficulties they encountered. I’d always wondered what the issues were.

This was the spark of the 1950s timeline in my novel. Then the characters took on lives of their own.

Last year, my dad was in hospice for five months. I was glad I had the chance to tell him  I’d dedicated the book to him. He was surprised and pleased. It was bittersweet launching a book (with a time frame out of my control) while watching him decline. He passed away nine days after the book was released. Until then, he was rooting for me the whole time.

If you could travel back in time, what time period would you go to?

Besides the early 1900s, I would enjoy visiting the 1950s. I have a lot of nostalgia about that era—maybe because that’s when my parents were young adults—when they finished college, started careers, and got married. Life wasn’t perfect, but it was a simpler time in many ways.

I love the old Danny Thomas TV reruns (originally called Make Room for Daddy) that ran from 1953-1964. Other favorites from that period are I Love Lucy, Our Miss Brooks, and Leave It to Beaver. Granted, the sitcoms don’t accurately reflect the difficulties of that era. But they draw me in nonetheless.

I grew up watching The Andy Griffith Show (it started in 1960). I think that’s where my love of small towns comes from. Everything I’ve written is set in a small town.

In writing The Broken Weathervane, I had the opportunity to visit the 1950s via the experiences of the Buckwalter family in their small town of Dillard, Wisconsin. I enjoyed researching for the story.

What is one question you would like readers to ask you? What would be your answer?

In a book club setting, if we were talking about The Broken Weathervane, I’d want readers to ask about my personal experiences that contributed to the writing of this book. I’d want to share how mental illness has touched people close to me—as a way of opening up the conversation. Transparency hopefully leads to understanding and empathy, and therefore more transparency and dialog—which eventually reduces the stigma.

We have all been touched by mental illness in some way. It’s time to both talk and listen, offer understanding rather than judgement, be a safe place for those who struggle, and learn how to come alongside them and their loved ones—while taking advantage of help through community resources.