“Where The Forest Meets The River” by Shannon Bowring – Book Review @EuropaEditions #WhereTheForestMeetsTheRiver #ShannonBowring #BookReview

Sequel to “The Road to Dalton”“What would the Dalton family tree look like if someone were to map it out? So many branches overlapping to form loyalties and rivalries that go back all the way to when the town was settled in the 1800s.”

Dalton, Maine is situated at the top of the state near the Canadian border. It is not the coastal Maine that tourists imagine. It is a Maine of hills and forests and it is said that the trees vastly outnumber the people.

It is 1995, and like small towns everywhere, Dalton is a microcosm of humanity. It is five years since the events of the first book “The Road to Dalton“. Some of the town’s residents are still feeling the loss and the changes that resulted.

Dalton is a town where many of the people who live there suffer from ennui. They are dissatisfied with their lives, but know nothing else. They stay because the town is all they’ve ever known.  It is a mill town, and the lumber mill owners, the Fraziers, are the town’s hierarchy.

Annette and Marshall Frazier – Annette has locked herself away in her house. She drinks too much and constantly buys things she doesn’t need on the shopping channel. Grieving the death of her daughter Bridget, and chronically depressed, Annette has never tried to be a part of her granddaughter Sophie’s life. Marshall, on the other hand, would like to have Sophie in his…

Richard and Trudy Haskell – Richard is the town’s physician who runs the medical clinic that was run by his father before him. His position in the town makes him privy to many of its secrets. He is very uncomfortable with his role of town ‘confessor’ and after the suicide five years previously he has turned to food for comfort. Richard has just had a heart attack. His wife, Trudy, who works at the local library stays by his side.

Bill and Bev Theroux – Bill has taken early retirement for health reasons and Bev was the director of the local long term care facility, but has since left that position. She now works in a store/diner.

Trudy and Bev have been best friends for years – and much, much more. They are each other’s everything and their lives are very complicated as a result.

Nate and his daughter Sophie – Nate is Bev’s beloved son. He worked as a policeman in the small Dalton police force before his wife’s suicide. Now he works at the mill owned by Marshall, his late wife’s father. His five year old daughter is the only bright thing in his life and he adores her.

Rose Douglas and her two sons – Rose was once engaged to be married to Tommy (a ne’er do well who physically abused her regularly. Now she lives alone in a run-down trailer with her two young sons and works part-time at Dalton’s medical clinic. Rose and Nate Theroux could become a couple, if only…

Gregory Fortin – a nineteen year old. In the past five years he has gone from being an overweight and bullied teen to a fit college freshman. Greg is attracted to men and women and he is not comfortable with his sexual identity. Grey is expected to run the town’s hardware store like his father before him. This is a life he cannot imagine for himself and does not want. Greg is never happier than when he is working in a garden and wishes his life could center around horticulture.

Vera Curtis – lives in Bangor, but comes home to Dalton because her 68 year old mother has broken her leg. She is a nurse practitioner who will step in to run the clinic while Dr. Haskell recovers from his heart attack.

This literary novel touches upon myriad themes. Depression, sexual identity, alcoholism, grief, loss, heredity, endurance, change, and resilience. It also is a novel about hope, and those who have none. About people who are restless and those who are content.

“Where The Forest Meets The River” is an impressive sequel written with great empathy for its characters. It was poignantly realistic tale, told by a gifted storyteller.

This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from Europa Editions via Edelweiss.

Publication date: September 3, 2024
Publisher: Europa Editions

ISBN: 9798889660439 ASIN: B0CV9T2SXJ – 304 pages

Shannon Bowring’s award-winning work has appeared in numerous journals. She holds a BA in English/Creative Writing from the University of Maine and an MFA from the Stonecoast low-residency program at USM. Her debut novel, The Road to Dalton, was published in June 2023. The second book in the Dalton Novels trilogy, Where the Forest Meets the River, was published in September 2024. The third book in the series, IN A DISTANT VALLEY, is forthcoming from Europa Editions.

Connect with Shannon Bowring via her Website, Facebook and/or Instagram.