Mary Alice Monroe
Award-winning, New York Times best-selling author Mary Alice Monroe will appear at Hudson Library on Saturday, May 29 to talk about her new novel The Summer of Lost and Found. Books will be available for purchase and signing at this free event. Books and Bites programs are sponsored by the Hudson Library Board of Trustees.
Masks must be worn at all times while in the library, and social distancing must be maintained. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, attendance at this event is limited and reservations are required. To make a reservation, please call Hudson Library at 828-526-3031.
The Summer of Lost and Found is a sensitive story that restores the human spirit. After living on the West Coast through a difficult period and breakup with John Peterson, a man she dearly loved and perhaps still does, Linnea Rutledge has come back to Isle of Palms, SC. Life is good until COVID-19 hits home, and Linnea is furloughed from her dream job at the South Carolina Aquarium. She fears she will be unable to continue to afford to live at the Rutledge family’s idyllic beach cottage, which she rents from her aunt Cara. Tensions mount when Cara’s husband comes home from Europe with the virus, and their child, Hope, must live for a time with Linnea.
Complicating the challenges presented by the virus is John’s return to Isle of Palms. On a visit to see his mother — Linnea’s neighbor — John learns a colleague has tested positive for the virus, so he must stay put in his old loft apartment next door to Linnea. As she lets John slip back into her life, Linnea is faced with a seemingly impossible decision when her boyfriend Gordon comes in from England. As the weeks turn into months, life in the time of coronavirus is difficult for the Rutledge family and their friends, but it is also affirming as they reconnect with the rhythms of nature in the sky and sea around them.
Mary Alice Monroe found her calling in environmental fiction when she moved to coastal South Carolina many years ago. With book sales in the millions, the author has achieved many lists, including the New York Times, USA Today, and starred reviews, as well as numerous awards.
For more information, call the library at 828-526-3031. Hudson Library, 554 Main Street in Highlands, is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.