What personal trials of his own does Penn have to fight through in this novel? How do you fight through trials/tragedies in your own life?

Iles dealt with his own personal tragedy after he nearly died in an auto accident in 2011. During his recovery, he wrote the latest trilogy featuring Penn Cage, of which Natchez Burning is the first installment. What personal trials of his own does Penn have to fight through in this novel? How do you fight through trials/tragedies in your own life?

Penn has lost his first wife and is left to raise a daughter on his own which is a huge thing to deal with for anyone. He is also dealing with a lot of questions about his father and the idealized version of the man he has always had is being somewhat destroyed by things happening and things he is learning in the right now. It is always difficult to become an adult and see your parents as an adult with all their flaws and foibles but the things Penn is dealing with are a little more than that and sort of overwhelming. Penn is fighting to protect those he loves, do his job as Mayor, keep his relationship with Caitlin and still fight an old and awful evil that is threatening all of them. My personal way to deal when life gets really tough is to keep really busy, spend lots of time with people and keep a journal.

Along with the loss of his wife, Penn is dealing with his parents. As an adult he is beginning to see their flaws.

The loss of Penn's wife was a big struggle for him. Also, the fact that his father had kept so many secrets from him. Penn knew nothing about his father's Korea experience nor his involvement with so many shady characters. He also realized that he really did not know his mother as well as he thought. Of course Viola and her son were a big problem too. And, underlying all that was his fear that Caitlin's job meant more to her than their relationship.

At some point in our lives, usually in our teens, we come to the realization that our parents are not perfect human beings. This isn't always easy to accept but as we mature we realize that no person is perfect. Penn had to reconcile the reality of who his father really was. After having idolized him well into adulthood and learning that his father had serious flaws would have been more than most people to deal with. In addition he was conflicted between family loyalty and justice.

In addition to losing his wife, being a single parent, embarking on a new relationship with Caitlin and learning that his father is not the paragon he thought he was, Penn also realizes that, as mayor of Natchez, he hasn't been able to accomplish everything he set out to, and quite probably won't be able to. Personally, I try to focus on what's really important, don't sweat the small stuff, and realize that I did the best I could at the time.

Penn is still suffering from the loss of his wife and the effect is had on his daughter. He also is to a lesser degree suffering from the loss of his belief in justice from his first job in Houston. He takes on the job of major in Natchez partly to help right some wrongs that have been done years ago, again to help with a sense of justice. Then Penn finds out that his father might not be the paragon of virtue that he has built him up to be. This is devastating to Penn. Plus his mother is unquestioning in support of his father which he doesn't understand. And he isn't sure that his fiance is as committed to him as she is to her job. Penn tends to view things as black and white, good and evil and seems to expect perfection in himself and others and is disappointed when that doesn't happen. I think that is one of his own trials that he has to fight through. I have had trials to fight through but have relied on my faith in God and on the help of family to get me through.

Penn finds it difficult to believe, as Scout did in To Kill a Mockingbird, that his father is not Atticus Finch but instead a man who may have ties to the very past that Penn is trying to expose. Sometimes allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and facing our problems head on gets rid of all the guilt and shame that harboring a secret may cause.

Penn must come to terms with who his father is as opposed to who he hoped his father to be. The secrets he is discovering, his father's possible involvement in horrible behavior. Basically Penn's family is in shambles and he must piece the puzzle together, not easy. His world isn't what it once was. His tests are only beginning. Penn's perception of his father is up in the air.

Penn's life seems to have more downs than ups in this book. He is trying to make sense of it all. He struggles to live a normal life.

I think that the death of his wife was one major trial. Now he finds that the father he idolized has character flaws, one of which was the brief affair and the present concerns about the murder charge. He must face this as well as wondering who he can trust, including his fiancée.