Cleah Lucky proves to be even more overbearing in death than she was in life. Her estranged kids learn of the exhaustive list of requirements written into her will, starting with shared custody of her urn. Family is complicated. Cleah’s Bequest is a funny and surprisingly heartfelt story about the struggle for control. “Who knew Cleah Lucky could be even more overbearing in death than she was in life?
Three estranged siblings learn their mother has placed extensive and seemingly irrational requirements in her will as a condition of inheritance, starting with having to share custody of her urn. The list goes on with things like having to spend holidays together with a list of what to serve, what to wear, games to play, a song to listen to, on and on, with more surprises along the way. Can she even do that? Turns out she can, thanks to a legally airtight trust. Cleah has done her homework, to her kids’ dismay. It seems like she’s thought of everything, and it tests their resolve, their cooperation, and even their sanity.
Set in the Pacific Northwest, Cleah’s Bequest is an irreverent and unexpectedly heartwarming tale about what we owe the people who raised us and the price of getting what we think we deserve. Published by Unsolicited Press, this is Mari’s second novel.