Into the Wilderness: Synopsis
In 1964 Rose Mayer buries her second husband and wonders what she is going to do with the rest of her life. She’s sixty-four and homeless, but about two things she’s clear: she’s never going to marry again, and she isn’t going to visit her son in Vermont.
But Rose does go to Vermont – likes it – and stays. At the Marlboro Music Festival she meets Percy Mendell, a born and bred Vermonter who has never married, never voted for a Democrat, and never left the state. Percy is struggling with his long-held political beliefs: Goldwater is too extreme even for the party faithful, and in the November election, Vermonters vote for LBJ.
Meanwhile, Rose finds herself living without a Jewish community for the first time in her life, forcing her to examine her faith. She survives her first hunting season, celebrates her first Christmas, and enjoys her first taste of maple syrup. Percy takes up gardening, begins piano lessons, and falls in love.
Between Good Friday and Easter, Rose and Percy celebrate Passover with their neighbors, ready to start a new life together in the Vermont spring.
Into The Wilderness
wins IPPY Gold Medal for Regional Fiction