A New Dawn in Deer Isle - The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings on Friday

    After George McLast's wife Lorna died, his life seemed to lose its purpose. He rarely left the trailer they'd bought in Florida, took afternoon naps to break the monotony, and worst of all, he'd started having a squeezing feeling in his chest. He'd  mourned for almost three years before deciding to take action in the form of a road trip in his van, something he and his wife had planned to do. A New Dawn in Deer Isle tells the story of George's adventure. With surprises along the way, he examines his life and his future.
     Readers who enjoy books with older characters (Baby Boomer age), road trips, and introspective narrative will definitely like this touching story. The author's voice is conversational, as if telling a story to a friend, and the book is an easy, engrossing, and true-to-life read. 
I'll look for more books by this author.

Genre: Fiction/Travel/OA (Older Adult)
Book Length: 181 Pages
Amazon Link: A New Dawn in Deer Isle
Author's Website: Tom Winton

Book Beginning:
     For thirty-five months my life had been a living hell. Every morning, noon, and night relentless flames ravaged my mind, my spirit, and my soul. You see, in 2011 my wife and I moved to that blazing-hot inferno they call Florida. And by the time we'd made it just halfway through the first nine-month summer in that overdeveloped, sub-tropical jungle, we absolutely hated the place. Then in September of the same year, with our hearts broken because we had made the move and couldn't afford to go back to Long Island, my Lorna began to weaken.

Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
Through the glass I saw Sarah Poulin's face again. She was placing short stout glasses of water  in front of five family members who'd entered the diner minutes earlier. And her lovely face was all lit up with that warm smile of hers. 

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
     Every once in a while we read a book that profoundly affects the way we perceive our lives. A NEW DAWN IN DEER ISLE is one of those rare books. 
     A common man of modest means, world-weary George McLast decides to forget all his problems and take the trip him and his beloved wife had only dreamed about before she passed away three years earlier. Despite all the unnerving feelings he’s been getting in his chest, his son’s disapproval, and his precarious financial situation, he sets out across America following the same route John Steinbeck took in 1959 with his pet poodle, Charley. And as the legendary author wanted to do back then, George hopes to reacquaint himself with his country and its people. 
     But everything doesn’t work out as planned. Along the way George encounters far more than he had bargained for. And so will readers. During his many adventures and mishaps you’ll feel like you’re right alongside him, in the passenger seat of his old van. And you will not only read his words you’ll learn from them as well. 
                

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