{"id":163,"date":"2026-10-09T00:46:43","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T00:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/?page_id=163"},"modified":"2026-10-09T10:01:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T10:01:46","slug":"thanksgiving-thistles-page","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/?page_id=163","title":{"rendered":"Thanksgiving Thistles Page"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"brz brz-root__container brz-reset-all brz-root__container-page\" >\n<section id=\"umVLSGrYgD9V_umVLSGrYgD9V\" class=\"brz-section brz-css-d-ynf0il brz-css-1brokmn\">\n<div class=\"brz-section__content brz-section--boxed brz-css-d-oh3bvl brz-css-xv53zz\" data-brz-custom-id=\"wmE8hz6VREd3\">\n<div class=\"brz-bg\">\n<div class=\"brz-bg-color\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"brz-container brz-css-d-x9rvyp brz-css-w2hdwl\">\n<div class=\"brz-row__container brz-css-d-w3a52u brz-css-11w4wl9\" data-brz-custom-id=\"e4cSuwoTRaic\">\n<div class=\"brz-row brz-css-d-1n95ksq brz-css-r-1xc399q brz-css-i6vby3\">\n<div class=\"brz-columns brz-css-d-j7y22h brz-css-1edqb1x\" data-brz-custom-id=\"qTag9fURtchy\">\n<div class=\"brz-column__items brz-css-d-v5w42e brz-css-hbmf6g\">\n<div id=\"\" class=\"brz-css-d-1wonu5h brz-css-zhzeve brz-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"brz-image brz-css-d-hove7k brz-css-1781qoj\" data-brz-custom-id=\"uD_ZViQbaPJA\"><picture class=\"brz-picture brz-d-block brz-p-relative brz-css-d-61mcic brz-css-10y5xpq\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Thanksgiving_Thistles_Web.jpg 1x, https:\/\/megcuske.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Thanksgiving_Thistles_Web.jpg 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 992px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Thanksgiving_Thistles_Web.jpg 1x, https:\/\/megcuske.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Thanksgiving_Thistles_Web.jpg 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"brz-img\" srcset=\"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Thanksgiving_Thistles_Web.jpg 1x, https:\/\/megcuske.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Thanksgiving_Thistles_Web.jpg 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Thanksgiving_Thistles_Web.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" title=\"Thanksgiving_Thistles_Web\" draggable=\"false\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"brz-columns brz-css-d-j7y22h brz-css-16gu9b0\" data-brz-custom-id=\"mtIYl3Kh5N5p\">\n<div class=\"brz-column__items brz-css-d-v5w42e brz-css-v3jnss\">\n<div id=\"\" class=\"brz-css-d-1wonu5h brz-css-1bqdwjg brz-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"brz-rich-text brz-rich-text__custom brz-css-d-1ehz5mr brz-css-10ajzul\" data-brz-custom-id=\"fP6z6e71Emu0\">\n<div data-brz-translate-text=\"1\">\n<p class=\"brz-mt-lg-0 brz-text-lg-center brz-tp-lg-empty brz-ff-noto_serif brz-ft-google brz-fs-lg-16 brz-fss-lg-px brz-fw-lg-400 brz-ls-lg-0 brz-lh-lg-1_7 brz-vfw-lg-400 brz-fwdth-lg-100 brz-fsft-lg-0 brz-css-agulq3\" data-uniq-id=\"p50mJ\" data-generated-css=\"brz-css-agulq3\"><span style=\"color: rgb(90, 31, 43);\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"brz-text-lg-center brz-tp-lg-empty brz-ff-noto_serif brz-ft-google brz-fs-lg-20 brz-fss-lg-px brz-fw-lg-400 brz-ls-lg-0 brz-lh-lg-1_6 brz-vfw-lg-400 brz-fwdth-lg-100 brz-fsft-lg-0 brz-css-10sa5ng\" data-uniq-id=\"iaZ57\" data-generated-css=\"brz-css-10sa5ng\"><span style=\"color: rgb(90, 31, 43);\">THANKSGIVING THISTLES<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"brz-text-lg-center brz-tp-lg-empty brz-ff-noto_serif brz-ft-google brz-fs-lg-16 brz-fss-lg-px brz-fw-lg-400 brz-ls-lg-0 brz-lh-lg-1_7 brz-vfw-lg-400 brz-fwdth-lg-100 brz-fsft-lg-0 brz-css-agulq3\" data-uniq-id=\"eGsIT\" data-generated-css=\"brz-css-agulq3\"><span style=\"color: rgb(90, 31, 43);\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"brz-text-lg-left brz-tp-lg-empty brz-ff-noto_serif brz-ft-google brz-fs-lg-16 brz-fss-lg-px brz-fw-lg-400 brz-ls-lg-0 brz-lh-lg-1_6 brz-vfw-lg-400 brz-fwdth-lg-100 brz-fsft-lg-0 brz-css-drsidl\" data-uniq-id=\"i525s\" data-generated-css=\"brz-css-drsidl\"><span style=\"color: rgb(36, 20, 13);\">Ten years after lies spread online tore her family apart, Mara has learned how to live without going home. Then her mother calls and invites her to Thanksgiving.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"brz-fsft-lg-0 brz-fwdth-lg-100 brz-vfw-lg-400 brz-lh-lg-1_7 brz-ls-lg-0 brz-fw-lg-400 brz-fss-lg-px brz-fs-lg-16 brz-ft-google brz-ff-noto_serif brz-tp-lg-empty brz-text-lg-justify brz-css-1swpvjv\" data-uniq-id=\"dnlck\" data-generated-css=\"brz-css-1swpvjv\"><span style=\"color: rgb(36, 20, 13);\">Three nights. That\u2019s all Mara has to survive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"brz-text-lg-left brz-fsft-lg-0 brz-fwdth-lg-100 brz-vfw-lg-400 brz-lh-lg-1_7 brz-ls-lg-0 brz-fw-lg-400 brz-fss-lg-px brz-fs-lg-16 brz-ft-google brz-ff-noto_serif brz-tp-lg-empty brz-css-ht0r6u\" data-uniq-id=\"jgxvY\" data-generated-css=\"brz-css-ht0r6u\"><span style=\"color: rgb(36, 20, 13);\">So she packs a suitcase, grabs her cane, and drives back to the Smoky Mountains\u2014to the house she grew up in, the brother and sister who stopped calling, and parents who know far less about the last decade than they think they do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"brz-text-lg-left brz-fsft-lg-0 brz-fwdth-lg-100 brz-vfw-lg-400 brz-lh-lg-1_7 brz-ls-lg-0 brz-fw-lg-400 brz-fss-lg-px brz-fs-lg-16 brz-ft-google brz-ff-noto_serif brz-tp-lg-empty brz-css-ht0r6u\" data-uniq-id=\"muE2c\" data-generated-css=\"brz-css-ht0r6u\"><span style=\"color: rgb(36, 20, 13);\">The familiar things are still there: Mama\u2019s stuffing, ruthless Monopoly games, black olives on fingertips, old stories that never get told the same way twice. So are the wounds everyone has learned not to touch.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"brz-text-lg-left brz-fsft-lg-0 brz-fwdth-lg-100 brz-vfw-lg-400 brz-lh-lg-1_7 brz-ls-lg-0 brz-fw-lg-400 brz-fss-lg-px brz-fs-lg-16 brz-ft-google brz-ff-noto_serif brz-tp-lg-empty brz-css-ht0r6u\" data-uniq-id=\"gQaA0\" data-generated-css=\"brz-css-ht0r6u\"><span style=\"color: rgb(36, 20, 13);\">As Thanksgiving unfolds, the past begins pressing against the present, forcing Mara to face what really happened, the man who twisted the truth, and the family who believed enough of it to let her go.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"brz-text-lg-left brz-fsft-lg-0 brz-fwdth-lg-100 brz-vfw-lg-400 brz-lh-lg-1_7 brz-ls-lg-0 brz-fw-lg-400 brz-fss-lg-px brz-fs-lg-16 brz-ft-google brz-ff-noto_serif brz-tp-lg-empty brz-css-ht0r6u\" data-uniq-id=\"rgJtz\" data-generated-css=\"brz-css-ht0r6u\"><span style=\"color: rgb(36, 20, 13);\">Funny, tender, and sharp-edged, Thanksgiving Thistles is a story about the damage of accusation, the stubbornness of love, and what happens when a woman returns home to find out whether family roots can survive ten years of silence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"brz-text-lg-left brz-tp-lg-empty brz-ff-noto_serif brz-ft-google brz-fss-lg-px brz-fw-lg-400 brz-ls-lg-0 brz-vfw-lg-400 brz-fwdth-lg-100 brz-fsft-lg-0 brz-fs-lg-16 brz-lh-lg-1_7 brz-css-ht0r6u\" data-uniq-id=\"rgJtz\" data-generated-css=\"brz-css-ht0r6u\"><span style=\"color: rgb(36, 20, 13);\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"brz-text-lg-left brz-tp-lg-empty brz-ff-noto_serif brz-ft-google brz-fs-lg-17 brz-fss-lg-px brz-fw-lg-400 brz-ls-lg-0 brz-lh-lg-1_6 brz-vfw-lg-400 brz-fwdth-lg-100 brz-fsft-lg-0 brz-css-18lsq3v\" data-uniq-id=\"d6cdx\" data-generated-css=\"brz-css-18lsq3v\"><strong style=\"color: rgb(36, 20, 13);\" class=\"brz-bold-true\">When everyone has their own version of the past, who gets to decide what the truth is?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"brz-text-lg-justify brz-tp-lg-empty brz-ff-noto_serif brz-ft-google brz-fs-lg-16 brz-fss-lg-px brz-fw-lg-400 brz-ls-lg-0 brz-lh-lg-1_7 brz-vfw-lg-400 brz-fwdth-lg-100 brz-fsft-lg-0 brz-css-1swpvjv\" data-uniq-id=\"qypUv\" data-generated-css=\"brz-css-1swpvjv\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"brz-tp-lg-empty brz-ff-noto_serif brz-ft-google brz-fss-lg-px brz-fw-lg-400 brz-ls-lg-0 brz-vfw-lg-400 brz-fwdth-lg-100 brz-fsft-lg-0 brz-text-lg-justify brz-fs-lg-16 brz-lh-lg-1_7 brz-css-1swpvjv\" data-uniq-id=\"qypUv\" data-generated-css=\"brz-css-1swpvjv\">\n<p class=\"brz-text-lg-center brz-tp-lg-empty brz-ff-noto_serif brz-ft-google brz-fs-lg-20 brz-fss-lg-px brz-fw-lg-400 brz-ls-lg-0 brz-lh-lg-1_6 brz-vfw-lg-400 brz-fwdth-lg-100 brz-fsft-lg-0 brz-css-10sa5ng\" data-uniq-id=\"mgaQs\" data-generated-css=\"brz-css-10sa5ng\"><span style=\"color: rgb(90, 31, 43);\">Work in Progress <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"lLBTxm6gXiBA_lLBTxm6gXiBA\" class=\"brz-section brz-css-d-ynf0il brz-css-1ky1lor\">\n<div class=\"brz-section__content brz-section--boxed brz-css-d-oh3bvl brz-css-io4nkz\" data-brz-custom-id=\"hY8HtYYndn2Z\">\n<div class=\"brz-bg\">\n<div class=\"brz-bg-color\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"brz-container brz-css-d-x9rvyp brz-css-19wg1an\">\n<div class=\"brz-wrapper-clone brz-flex-xs-wrap brz-css-d-x0dcve brz-css-1y7pbtc\" data-brz-custom-id=\"wLo0mCpEYvF6\"><a class=\"brz-a brz-btn brz-css-d-1syz9i2 brz-css-1tldvo8 brz-css-d-13c78oe brz-css-1n2xzlu\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"#popmake-226\" data-brz-link-type=\"external\" data-brz-custom-id=\"z3663wwP2eqj\"><svg class=\"brz-icon-svg brz-css-d-o4rfik brz-css-12fa4us\"><use href=\"\/wp-content\/plugins\/brizy\/public\/editor-build\/prod\/editor\/icons\/glyph\/tail-right.svg#nc_icon\"><\/use><\/svg><span data-brz-translate-text=\"1\" class=\"brz-span brz-text__editor\">Drop Me a Note<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p><!-- version:1791540106 --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THANKSGIVING THISTLES Ten years after lies spread online tore her family apart, Mara has learned how to live without going home. Then her mother calls and invites her to Thanksgiving. Three nights. That\u2019s all Mara has to survive. So she packs a suitcase, grabs her cane, and drives back to the Smoky Mountains\u2014to the house [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"brizy-blank-template.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-163","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"brizy_media":[{"id":48,"url":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Patchwork_Kisses_Web.jpg","name":"Patchwork_Kisses_Web.jpg","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-f8194d319126bd568ae67c9ca34562d8.jpg","brizy_post_uid":["a7c8af2b89ffe3d37a0cb42ab1a07795","12ede5608ac50a297f89435d49d2ea8a"]}},{"id":49,"url":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/The_Porchpyterians_Web.jpg","name":"The_Porchpyterians_Web.jpg","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-a0acc083cdebd456b89dd6b2c921e919.jpg","brizy_post_uid":["a7c8af2b89ffe3d37a0cb42ab1a07795","12ede5608ac50a297f89435d49d2ea8a"]}},{"id":62,"url":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/WEB3.png","name":"WEB3.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-51c3abd01e95930d984b22bda257775b.png","brizy_post_uid":["a7c8af2b89ffe3d37a0cb42ab1a07795","12ede5608ac50a297f89435d49d2ea8a"]}},{"id":141,"url":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/WEB-THISTLES.jpg","name":"WEB-THISTLES.jpg","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-58459763c93046a5dd33758dd150e685.jpg","brizy_post_uid":["12ede5608ac50a297f89435d49d2ea8a"]}},{"id":142,"url":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/COVER-THISTLES.png","name":"COVER-THISTLES.png","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-fb7e252ce10d08dcc37742ea257b7286.png","brizy_post_uid":["12ede5608ac50a297f89435d49d2ea8a"]}},{"id":143,"url":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Thanksgiving_Thistles_Web.jpg","name":"Thanksgiving_Thistles_Web.jpg","meta":{"brizy_attachment_uid":"wp-b46c6151d37ee7ad92c5b576923f7f21.jpg","brizy_post_uid":["12ede5608ac50a297f89435d49d2ea8a","a7c8af2b89ffe3d37a0cb42ab1a07795"]}}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=163"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":251,"href":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/163\/revisions\/251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/megcuske.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}