Downeast Ledge: A Novel

Downeast Ledge: A Novel

Changing times and personal failings have brought life to a standstill for the natives of Ashton, Maine. On the far side of the river that divides the coastal town, the prosperous summer residents come and go, seemingly complacent, without having much to do with the locals. But when Amber Waits crosses the river to take a job as a caregiver to dementia sufferer Walter Sterling, all bets are off. She finds herself thrown into the troubled lives of Walt, his distracted wife Geneva, and their resentful and reckless daughter Karen. And although he seems unaware of his surroundings, Walt begins to exert a strange influence on Amber and her friends. The mixing continues, and Karen becomes determined to make a dream come true by taking up with Robin Dunning, a local seafarer with a shadowy past and questionable future. As Amber tries to fend off one catastrophe after another, she has to come to terms with a hang-up of her own and muster her courage and resourcefulness to save her friends and herself. DOWNEAST LEDGE is a wistful comedy about people connecting the dots to complete their images of others, for better or worse. "You'll be rooting for Norman Gilliland's well-drawn cast despite all their human flaws—or perhaps because of them. A rewarding, touching read."—Kelly Harms, author of The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane Distributed for Nemo Productions Norman Gilliland is the author of two books about classical music, Grace Notes for a Year and Scores to Settle , as well as two previous novels, Sand Mansions and Midnight Catch . He is also a producer at Wisconsin Public Radio.