The Road to Dalton, Shannon Bowring
The Road to Dalton, Shannon Bowring
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

The Road to Dalton
A Novel

Author: Shannon Bowring

Narrator: Patricia Shade

Unabridged: 7 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/28/2023

Categories: Fiction, Lgbtq+, Family Life


Synopsis

From debut author Shannon Bowring comes a novel of small town America that Pulitzer-winner Richard Russo calls, "measured, wise, and beautiful."

It's 1990. In Dalton, Maine, life goes on. Rose goes to work at the diner every day, her bruises hidden from both the customers and her two young boys. At a table she waits, Dr. Richard Haskell looks back on the one choice that's charted his entire life, before his thoughts wander back to his wife, Trudy, and her best friend.

Trudy and Bev have been friends for longer than they can count, and something more than lovers to each other for some time now—a fact both accepted and ignored by their husbands. Across town, new mother Bridget lives with her high school sweetheart Nate, and is struggling with postpartum after a traumatic birth. And nearer still is teenager Greg, trying to define the complicated feelings he has about himself and his two close friends.

The Road to Dalton offers valuable understandings of what it means to be alive in the world—of pain and joy, conflict and love, and the endurance that comes from living.

About Shannon Bowring

Shannon Bowring has been nominated for a Pushcart and a Best of the Net, and was recently selected in Best Small Fictions. She holds an MFA from University of Southern Maine Stonecoast and currently resides in Maine. The Road to Dalton is her first novel.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Rosh on June 03, 2023

In a Nutshell: A haunting debut work, that offers a character study of various residents of a small town. Intricately written, slow paced. Great for literary fiction lovers. Story Synopsis: Rose: A woman who stays with her abusive fiancé, hiding her bruises from her two sons and the rest of the townsf......more

Goodreads review by Jonetta on March 04, 2024

the setup… The year is 1990 and the town is Dalton, Maine, the epitome of small town America. Trudy Haskell is the town librarian, married to Richard, the only doctor. Her best friend is Bev Theroux who’s married to Bill and they’re parents of one son, Nate. But Trudy and Bev are more than just best......more

Goodreads review by Chelsea on January 12, 2025

picked this up on a whim after never having heard of it before seeing it on someone's top books of the year list and i am just....blown away. this was so good. think the smell of other people's houses, but adult! definitely definitely definitely heed the content warnings (especially for postpartum d......more

Goodreads review by Jill on May 14, 2023

I love it when a book comes in under the radar, upends my expectations, and wins me over. That’s the case with Shannon Bowring’s debut book. I took a chance on it, mainly because I’ve rarely been disappointed with books I’ve chosen from Europa. And right from the first few pages, to paraphrase the au......more