Jacksonville Review – May 2026
A SMALL TOWN with hidden history and secrets is one of the settings of Michelle St. Romain Wilson’s debut novel, Song of Belonging, which was released in April. For fans of Kate Morton, Amy Harmon, and Sally Page, the book is a dual timeline story set in a rural town in Louisiana in 1934 and on the West Coast in 2019. Featuring both French Louisiana cultural history and hints of magical realism, the story follows Alice, a young journalist who begins having memories that are not her own and must find her place in a lineage of women healers who are protectors of the waters that surround their Louisiana home.
Michelle lives in Medford and was an author at the Spring Local Authors Fair, hosted by Rebel Heart Books. She is the co-author with Alma Rosa Alvarez of two poetry collections, Promised Fruit and Water’s Edge. In addition to writing and teaching, she has worked for decades in the nonprofit field, raising funds and awareness for issues close to her heart. Song of Belonging began as an idea in her mind when she was seven-years-old and her great-grandmother gave her a green jewelry box when she died.
Michelle grew up in Louisiana surrounded by a large extended family, and the novel combines her love of the environment and the natural world with stories from her French Acadian heritage. She leads creative writing workshops and retreats and has taught English and creative writing to children and teens in California, Hawai’i, and Oregon. Her work has been featured in the Poetry Phone Line Project of the Oregon Humanities, The Rapids literary magazine, The Stanford Challenge 2026 Anthology (Wild Poets Press), and on Jefferson Public Radio and Ashland Community Radio. To learn more about events and book club offerings, visit www.michellestromain.com.