“The Secret Life of Sunflowers” by Marta Molnar

Vincent van Gogh died almost unknown. So how did the world come to love his sunflowers?

The answer is Johanna Bonger. In the late 1800s, she married Theo van Gogh, the devoted brother who believed in Vincent’s genius when no one else did. Then tragedy struck, and Johanna was left a young widow with a baby, a struggling boardinghouse, and a pile of paintings nobody wanted. She set out to change that.

In the present day, Emsley Wilson, a Los Angeles auctioneer whose business is failing, is cleaning out her late grandmother’s New York brownstone when she finds Johanna’s diary. Why did her grandmother have it, and what else is hidden in the family’s past?

Based on a true story, it’s an inspiring dual-timeline novel of art, love, and two determined women.

This paperback is in very good condition, and it’s waiting for you at Dead Tree Dreams.