When I travel, I like to read a book set where I’m going, or by someone from that area. Hence, Drowning Ruth, a novel set in rural Wisconsin west of Milwaukee—the debut novel by Christina Schwarz.

It’s a story about tragedy unfolding from a secret—a secret that required lies and subterfuge to keep hidden, and one that literally had its keepers precariously balanced on thin ice. It’s also about sisters, family, parents, children, gossip, friendship, love, mental illness, and finding one’s place in this wild world of expectations and reality.

It’s also about adoption—which I did not know when I picked this book out to read.

But how very appropriate to my travels in Wisconsin and Michigan!

I shall have more to say later. And I’ve said a little bit previously. But my recent journey was a visit home, to my birth families.

I started reading Drowning Ruth at Toonie’s in Bellaire, Michigan. The brew is a local from Right Brain Brewery (Traverse City, MI)—Northern Hawk Owl Amber Ale.

That is the lighthouse at Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It’s as good a symbol as any of the amazing adventure of visiting my long lost sister, and meeting four siblings I never knew. I’m not posting their pictures here yet, but may in future.

Before I met my “Up North” Michigan family—my maternal siblings—we stopped at Seven Bridges Natural Area in Rapid River for some rushing water therapy. I soon discovered that my maternal cousin was quite familiar with the area and found solace there herself. It’s nice to have things like that in common.

This is a 450-foot dune that comes with a warning. If you go down it and can’t get back up, expect to pay $3,000 for a rescue. I did go down it as a teenager. The beauty was so astonishing, it actually hurt my heart. The blues of the water, the gold of the sand, the solitude of being so far away from people up top, the challenge of the climb back up… Then, I made the climb in 45 minutes. I think these days I’d take closer to the average 2 hours. The Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes are visible from the top of that dune. One of my very favorite places in all the world.

#nerdinabarwithabook

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