Book Description
Go
Away Home is the story of a young woman's quest
for independence and the right to decide her own future. A family scandal
closely followed by tragedy ties Liddie Treadway ever more tightly to the
family farm she yearns to escape. When she is finally free of her old life, she
seems for a moment to have it all - the opportunity for global travel,
unlimited adventures, and new passions. But the reappearance of an old friend
leads her to question her choices and her future. Set in pre-World War One
Iowa, Go Away Home is the timeless story of the fragility of what seems
secure and stable and the discover of what a woman's heart truly wants.
Why I wrote Go Away Home
The
idea that became Go Away Home has been in my head since I learned as a
child that my grandfather died of the Spanish Flu in 1918. Throughout my life,
I’ve been intrigued by my connection to this major world event. Of course I
never knew my grandfather and even though my grandmother lived until I was well
into my 20s, I never asked her a single question about him or their lives
together. And she was not the type to share.
So,
this story is based on a few facts, but it’s entirely fiction. In a way, the
book creates a life for the man I never knew and for the grandmother I only
knew as a stern old woman.
I
hope readers will be touched by the characters and the story. That would mean
they felt the story was well told, which was my goal. I hope readers will
empathize with the challenges the main character Liddie faces in making choices
and perhaps go further to consider their own choices. Are we happy with our
choices? What regrets do we have? Finally, I hope readers come away from the
book knowing more about rural life in the early 20th century.
Reader Reactions:
“Go Away Home is … a tale of choices,
dreams realized and rejected, and how values evolve … gently compelling and
highly believable.” –Midwest Book Review
“Excellent characters and an extremely
realistic plot … Go Away Home is the perfect story of coming home.” –Readers’ Favorite
“… a heart-warming and
heart-wrenching tale … a story that promises to fulfill what it is to be
alive when one chooses the life one wants to live, despite the consequences” – Paulette Mahurin, author
“Go Away Home is a coming of age novel
that is well-written, compelling, and endearing … a strong sense of
place, excellent character development, and an engaging plot line.” – Kara Logsden, Iowa City Public Library
“Every life is a story, no matter how
mundane it may appear on the surface, but it takes a writer like Carol
Bodensteiner to draw a reader in and keep them turning the pages.
Bodensteiner … writes characters with depth … she’s captured the era … with
meticulous historical detail.“
– J. P. Lane, author
“… a poignant, romantic tale …
Bodensteiner creates characters that tug at your heart strings.” – David Lawlor, author
Behind the Scenes
Research
to write Go Away Home yielded fascinating facts about the early 20th
century. For instance, Iowa had the (dubious) destination of being the only
state to make it illegal to speak any language but English in public. The term
“Buy American” was in use before World War One. We smile in photographs as a
result of a Kodak marketing campaign; prior to that, people didn’t smile in
photos for a variety of reasons: it was considered low class, it revealed poor
oral hygiene, and it was difficult to maintain a smile for the time it took to
expose a photo.
Carol Bodensteiner – Bio
Carol
Bodensteiner is a writer who finds inspiration in the places, people, culture
and history of the Midwest. After a successful career in public relations
consulting, she turned to creative writing. She blogs about writing, her
prairie, gardening, and whatever in life interests her at the moment. She
published her memoir Growing Up Country in 2008. Go Away Home is
her debut novel.
You can buy Carol's books from Amazon:
Thanks for sharing the news of "Go Away Home," Rachelle. You're the best!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! It sounds like a very interesting book.
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