Tessa: Eyes on the World is the debut novel by Kristena Prater aka Salodius Byrd. The author was inspired by real-life high-profile individuals whose influence shapes the emotional, mysterious and philosophical landscape of the story. Tessa and her brother Xavier become through their trials, tragic demise, and rebirth, the spiritual and magical guides to this heartbreaking, enlightening and inspiring story that reads like a Homeric epic; profoundly intimate, and at the same time universal.

Xavier is in a car accident that leaves him paralyzed from the chest down. His popularity, charisma and extended family support allows the reader to watch tragedy turn to triumph. His sister Tessa becomes increasingly aware of the fragile and often unjust realities that shape human existence.

The storyline follows an unconventional family yearning for continuity and kinship. The catastrophe rearranges the family junction, as Tessa is inspired to apply her knowledge of caretaking into a humanitarian future leads her to travel across continents. Unbelievable mysteries start unraveling when she enlists in the Peace Corps and is eventually assigned to in The Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific on a remote Island as a volunteer. Through stories, dreams, and enigmas she ventures into territory of other crossroads, landmarks that shape incalculable circumstances.

As children Tessa, Xavier, and their two younger siblings, are marked by eccentricity, contradiction, athleticism and creativity. Their lifestyle seems privileged, yet there is a paradox of tension and confusion. Tessa and her siblings must navigate emotional uncertainty and fractured family ties. The book takes us around the world, physically, emotionally, spiritually and intellectually. The mother, the two fathers, and children are to be faced with another unexpected tragedy.