pstrongNational Book Award FinaliststrongppstrongFrom the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of emThe Overstory emand the forthcoming emBewildermentem, an exquisitely rendered novel set in the pediatrics ward of a public hospital that examines the power, joy, and anguish of storytelling.strongpp strongIf you have children or will have children, if you know children or can remember being a child, dare to read emOperation Wandering Soulem. . . it is bedtime reading for the future. --emUSA Todayemstrongp pIn the pediatrics ward of a public hospital in the heart of Los Angeles, a group of sick children is gathering. Surrogate parents to this band of stray kids, resident Richard Kraft and therapist Linda Espera are charged with keeping the group alive on make-believe alone. Determined to give hope where there is none, the adults spin a desperate anthology of stories that promise restoration and escape. But the inevitable is foreshadowed in the faces they've grown to love, and ultimately Richard