Leaving Freedom, reissued by Encircle Publications in June 2023, took Connie Lewis from her home in Freedom, Massachusetts, to Florida with her aging mother and then to Ashland, Oregon, where she found success as a writer and a place to call home. Now, in the sequel Finding Freedom, Connie is eighty years old and has exchanged the Volkswagen she called The Yellow Sub for a Honda Fit she’s nicknamed Last Chance. She’s ready for a last adventure and will use a drive across the United States to write a travel narrative she’ll call Travels with Connie. From gospel singers in the little town of Fossil, Oregon, to a famous painter in Glacier National Park, to turtle races in Perhem, Minnesota, to a twelve-year-old grandniece who teaches her about the lives of modern tweens, she finds more material for her book than she expected. Both going and coming back, she solved mysteries that help her to understand how the world changes even as it remains the same. Will she complete her journey in Massachusetts where she was born, the Oregon she has learned to call home, or somewhere she hasn’t expected?
Six old women living on an isolated island in Lake Winnipesaukee, teenagers vacationing on Newfound Lake in 1959, paragliders and skiers on Cannon Mountain, an old woman in a house covered in gypsy moths, a man living off the grid in a shack he built himself. The characters in these stories all keep secrets. They are as tough and rugged as New Hampshire’s iconic Old Man in the Mountain. And like The Old Man who fell in 2003, their pasts survive only in memory. Sometimes that’s a good thing.
Early praise for Six Old Women and Other Stories
. . . a poignant and touching tale of self-discovery, humanity, and mystery. Beautifully written, the secrets revealed, and kept, will leave you both warm, and wondering. BJ Magnani, PhD, MD, FCAP, author of the Lily Robinson series
Crisply drawn characters mixed with detailed settings provide the reader with much to enjoy. My favorite in this collection is Six Old Women. Think you know who did it and why? The ending may surprise you. Larry Maness, author of The Last Perdoux
Rich in detail and nuance, Six Old Women and the four accompanying tales give the reader a serene and fascinating glimpse into humanity and all its complexities. Clive Rosengren, thrre-time Shamus nominated author of the Eddie Collins series
. . . taut, wry, and darkly luminous. Carole T. Beers, winner or Women Writing the West WILLA award
Each story is like a freshwater pearl connected to the others by the strands of aging, love and curiosity. You’ll lose yourself in the lives of these characters. Michael Niemann, winner of Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award
Magazine Reviews:
https://www.krlnews.com/2023/02/six-old-women-other-stories-by-sharon-l.html
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