Book Description:
Set in New England at the time of the American Bicentennial, The Way to
Remember is the poignant story of a displaced young woman struggling to
figure out who she is within the context of her hometown and the carefully
masked dysfunction of her family. "Everything can be fixed by writing a
check." Words to live by for Robin Fortune's wealthy father, until he can't
buy her way back into college after she's expelled for dealing pot. Now he
chooses not to speak to her anymore, but that's just one of the out-of-whack
situations Robin's facing. At nineteen, she feels rudderless, working in a
diner by day and sleeping with a buddy from high school by night - all so
strange for her because she was always the one with the plan. While her
college friends plotted how to ensnare husbands, she plotted a novel, which
she scratched out into a series of spiral-bound notebooks she hides in the
closet. But now, there's nothing. No vision, no future, no point. In fact,
the only thing she feels she has to look forward to is that her favorite
author, Maryana Capture, is paying a visit to the local Thousand Words
bookstore. Robin surmises that if she can convince Maryana to help her get
her novel published, she'll finally get herself back on track. Except that
life never takes a straight path in this intensely satisfying coming-of-age
novel.
Guest Post
Everyone Has a Main Street
Most of us can remember a Main Street in our hometown, but if you’re old like me (ha!), it might have played a bigger part, before the malls took over.
I spent a lot of time as a teenager on Main Street.
In fact, I could probably list most of the shops that lined the street back
then – there was a grocery store (Almac’s) that used only paper bags and had
teenage boys who would carry those bags for you, out to your car. Next to
Almac’s was an ice cream and sandwich shop, the Newport Creamery. My first
memory of The Newport Creamery is being there with my grandmother and eating a
cheeseburger on grilled bread. Next to the Newport Creamery was Thorpe’s
Pharmacy, and at the end of the row was Woolworth’s, a kid’s dream store, where
even a couple of bucks was enough for hair ties or records or an inflatable
beach toy.
Now I live just a couple of towns over from that
Main Street, so I’ve been back numerous times. It’s changed, of course –
everything changes, especially in 40-odd years. The Almac’s is now a Korean
restaurant, the Woolworth’s is a CVS. The little movie theatre is a bank, and
the post office moved down the road a couple of miles.
But the pizza place is still there, and so is the
Chinese restaurant. The pizza place is featured in my novel The Way to
Remember, because my memories of Main Street in 1976 are still pretty
clear. I can still travel back in my mind to a place of innocence and
possibilities, and I can still sit in a booth and order a small pepperoni
pizza.
Writing about the past can be a challenge, and I
did a lot of research in the local library, perusing magazines and newspaper
clippings to refresh my memory. But setting a novel in the summer of 1976 was
not only fun, it was a gentle look back at what, for me at least, was a much
simpler time.
Martha Reynolds
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Enter the Giveaway:
Thank you for hosting me today! I had fun writing this guest post, and I hope that anyone who reads THE WAY TO REMEMBER will enjoy a book set in the summer of 1976.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome! :)
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