RENEWAL
Whether you celebrate Easter or Passover or neither, spring is a time of renewal and hope. Here in North Carolina, we are deep into spring. The azalea bushes are bending under the weight of white, pink, and red blossoms; royal purple, butter yellow, and pale pink irises stand upright in garden beds; and the trees, seemingly overnight, have fully leafed out to lush green.
With all that’s going wrong and awry in the world, I take pleasure and comfort in nature’s bounty of beauty. Such beauty provides a respite and a bit of a release of tension. May you also experience the glorious colors of spring!
READING
LOST IN THE MAINE WOODS
Heartwood by Amity Gaige

In Heartwood, Nurse Valerie Gillis, 42, sets out to walk the Appalachian Trail to get her heart straight and to escape from too much death (think Covid.) She is afraid of the dark and gets lost after her new hiking friend Santo leaves the trail. Her husband, Gregory, about whom she has mixed feelings, has been her support, meeting her at specific places with more food and supplies.
Lt. Bev, a Maine game warden, is the individual responsible for coordinating the search for Valerie. She is experienced with an excellent track record for finding people. Lena is a 76-year-old resident of Cedar-field, a CCRC in Connecticut, who spends hours online and misses Christine, her estranged daughter. Valerie reminds her of Christine.
The novel alternates between the perspectives of Bev, Lena, Santo, and Valerie. Although lost, Valerie writes affectionate letters to her mother recalling the love she received in childhood and detailing her current situation. Like Lena missing her daughter, Lt. Bev has complex issues with her own mother who is slowly dying.
This is an intriguing and highly creative novel combining the strong presence of the natural world (woods and birds) with both the fragility and strength of human relationships. Mothers play a key role here, but there is also sibling rivalry and affection. Keeping the reader on tenterhooks is the underlying suspense of the search. Will Valerie be found alive or not? Highly recommended!
Amity Gaige is the author of four novels and teaches at Yale University. Several years ago, I read and enjoyed Sea Wife, a New York Times Notable Book of 2020. (~JWFarrington)
FOOTNOTE
For those who might be interested in other books featuring game wardens, try the mystery series by Paul Doiron. Doiron, a former editor of Down East magazine, is the author of fifteen thrillers featuring Maine game warden Mike Bowditch. The first, published in 2010 is The Poacher’s Son, and the most recent (2024) is Pitch Dark.
INTIMATE THEATER
Stop Kiss (Justice Theater Project, Raleigh)

Until recently, I firmly believed society had made significant progress in its treatment and acceptance of the LBGTQ community. So much of that is being challenged now by this administration.
Stop Kiss, a play by Diana Son, was written in 1998 and first presented Off-Broadway. The principals in this cast of five are Callie, a long-time New Yorker and traffic reporter, and Sara, a schoolteacher new to the city seeking life and adventure. George, Callie’s former boyfriend, is a regular attendee in her life, one with occasional benefits. Callie and Sara move slowly and tentatively into a relationship until a tragic attack.
The play is fast paced and performed with no intermission. Scenes are very short, only a few minutes of dialogue, followed by darkness and yet another set change. Some characters appear on floor level at the right or left with the stage behind. One knows there has been an awful event, but not the particulars. The action moves from the past to the present and back again. The suspense is in wondering what came after the attack or, what is the fate of Callie and Sara’s relationship.
I surmise that this play likely packed more of a punch and was perhaps shocking when it was performed in 1998. I found it somewhat dated, but probably the message is still relevant and one that needs to be delivered again and again.
Note: Unattributed photos and header photo ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)