Settling lies close to the author’s heart. Fiction based strongly on the lives of real people the author has known and loved over the course of sixty-five years, Settling is comprised of 100 short episodes, Snippets of Life. The tale begins in 1921, providing glimpses of post-WWII England and America as the narrative winds its way to the present day. Like those “camera flash” moments that stand out in a memory, Settling illuminates multiple family stories that entwine in an Anglo-American epic of great passion and evolving wisdom. Repeatedly tempted by Settling for life imagined, as in love is so sweet, the central characters ultimately accept Settling because it is the right thing to do after all. Much of Settling, Section One, follows the famous 78th Lightning Division as it fights its way across WWII Germany. The mettle of one central character, Laverne, a medic in the 311th Timberwolves Regiment, is tested during the battle for the Bridge at Remagen. After the War, in 1945, during the occupation, the Timberwolves are stationed in the small town of Grebenstein. Combat-weary Laverne falls in love with a young local woman named Erika. Fraternization is strictly prohibited and marriage is not allowed, yet a mid-Century baby is on the way …

Settling: 100 Snippets of Life from a Mid-Century Woman

Literature & Fiction

Smith, Deborah Williams

Women's Fiction

Lost Lake Folk Art

Drafted during the Vietnam era, Larry Johnson filed for conscientious objector status and served as an Army medic in Germany. The life-long peace activist from Golden Valley, Minnesota, answered JFK's call in 1961 and hiked 50 miles. At age 61, he hiked 61 miles down Highway 61 with his grandson Tyler. Just a few weeks ago, to commemorate his 70th birthday, Larry completed a 70 mile hike.

Sixty-one

JOHNSON, LARRY

Biographies & Memoirs

A must read!Longing to Belong by Judi Bergen is beautifully written in a style reminiscent of Faith Sullivan’s Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse. Turtle Creek, Iowa comes to life through the eyes of Amanda MacGregor, a young woman struggling to fit in with others in town. Her life is haunted by a family tragedy and secrets held by her father’s maiden sister who runs their household. Bergen’s characters drive the story within the milieu of small town life. Sue Grove, English &amp; French emeritus faculty, Riverland Community College in Austin, Minnesota.Longing to Belong, Judi Bergen’s debut novel, is an authentic, compelling story that draws the reader into the hidden layers of a family’s tragedy shrouded in secrecy. Recommended read for those who want to know the characters inner lives and how they affect the trajectory of their actions. Kathleen Vellengaauthor of Strangers in Our Midst and In the Midst of Bounty.

Longing to Belong

Bergen, Judi

Genre Fiction

Perhaps I have a need for much rougher prose or poetry than I had been anticipating. I’ve been wanting to write something jewel-like, but maybe what I want isn’t exactly the point. The hatchet sank into my knee. My hands were numb from the vibrations of peeling the bark from oak fence posts all day long. First I crouched from the pain, then when I stood up I was so dizzy. It was a beautiful evening in summer. A weightless sky. A light yellow, indistinct sun, a washed-out blue and my lover didn’t want to stop what he was doing up on the hill in order to help. So I walked down the ridge road myself and found the simple stream, not much of a stream really. I sat in it in my blue jeans. I tore the leg off of one where I had sliced into my knee, and watched the blood make a delicate weave with the water. The water and sky the same empty color, like 7-Up. —Carole Stoa Senn Shamu, Splash &amp; Solemn — Carole would put horses, rather than herself, at the center of her story — is a necessarily fragmented account of how a talented and lovely young life was ravaged twice by violent attacks against which she had no way to defend herself. —From the preface by Emilio DeGrazia

Shamu, Splash & Solemn: The Creative Writing of Carole Jayne Stoa Senn

DeGrazia, Emilio

Gerber, Anne

Poetry

John Weiss was the best-known name and face of the Post Bulletin outside the city limits of Rochester. Need to know someone in Plainview? If John didn’t know the person, he’d know the person who’d know the person you needed. Need to know which roads were in danger of flooding that spring? John knew—and could tell you which roads had flooded last and who lived on them. John was also a one-man band in that he could report a hard news story, do a feature, file away a possible story angle for weeks or months later, AND take pictures to go with all of it. And you’d get all of this with his statement “I’m heading to the river” as he headed for the door. Whenever John left the building, it was always “to the river.” Which river, you could never be sure. And how close to a river he actually got was up for debate. I was reluctant. Who in the world is interested in the run-of-the-mill junked-up shop? What makes that woman so special? Finally, I started to see things John’s way. That junked-up shop is a treasure trove of stories. That woman’s story is unique, all the while being so typical. All right, I finally said. Let’s give it a try. BUT, no going out of the way. It has to be something you find on your way to a legit story assignment. Soon enough, BACK ROADS columns and pictures started to fill our files. Stories with hopes and dreams, and joys and sorrows. John put the folks and places that we see every day but somehow overlook into focus. John broadened our definition of neighbor and friend. I think it’s fair to say that we all learned a lot traveling the BACK ROADS with John. I know I did. —Randi Kallas, Former Post-Bulletin City Editor; Current Newspaper in Education Coordinator

Backroads: The Best of the Best by Post-Bulletin Columnist John Weiss

Weiss, John

What began as an adventure of a lifetime for 19-year-old Ken Flies when he joined Peace Corps and went to the Backlands of Brazil in 1961, turned into a lifetime of adventure.

Into the Backlands: a Peace Corps Memoir

Flies, Kenneth E. Dugan

Memoirs

The captivating account of a young nurse working for the U.S. Public Health Service at the Lakota Sioux Rosebud reservation hospital struggling to stay afloat financially in 1973-1974. It was a turbulent time. Members of the American Indian Movement at the nearby Wounded Knee Reservation had precipitated an armed standoff with the FBI. Nancy Palker, her colleagues, and her friends on the reservation, navigated day-to-day stresses together by exploring the Lakota culture—music, dance, artwork and storytelling—with curiosity and humor. Nancy returned to the Badlands and Rosebud in 2016 to find that the Rosebud reservation and hospital continue to struggle socially and economically. Magic and Tragic Rosebud concludes with a guidebook on how the reader can take action today to provide assistance to the Native American communities of the Great Plains.

Magic and Tragic Rosebud

Politics & Social Sciences

Palker, Nancy

Sociology

Professor Deb Pitton led a group of healthcare students to Peru and Machu Picchu in 2010. When rain swelled the mountain rivers, flooding downstream villages, the group was trapped and struggled to remain together waiting to be evacuated.

No One Left Behind: An unexpected educational adventure at Machu Picchu

Pitton, Debra Eckerman

Professionals & Academics

At Home In Lanesboro

Tom Driscoll

In this sequel to Judi Bergen's debut novel, Longing to Belong, trouble in the small Norwegian town of Turtle Creek continues to brew in the aftermath of Carlton McGregor's Aunt Ethel's suicide. Carlton and his college freshman daughter Amanda decide it would be best to tear down the McGregor mansion and donate the land to the city to build a community center. The decision sparks controversy. And when Carlton announces that he and Daisy are going to get married, Turmoil in Turtle Creek reaches the boiling point.

Turmoil in Turtle Creek

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