Welcome to the first day of September. Fall is upon us and my own kids start school tomorrow, entering 8th and 10th grade. The summer always goes by so fast and we are sad to see it go. Bye Summer. I have a heavy teaching load this year with 3 preps. I'm teaching AP U.S. history and an elective as well as a PSEO class on campus. Can anyone say Busy? Even though I'm so busy, I still make time to read. I'm really excited for you to meet this month's Author in the Spotlight. Say hello to P.S. Duffy.
P.S. Duffy was born in China, grew up in the U.S., and spent over thirty summers sailing in Nova Scotia where her ancestors settled in the 1750s and where much of her novel takes place. She has a degree in history from Concordia University in Montreal and a PhD from the University of Minnesota. Following a 25 year career in neurologically based communication disorders, she now balances writing in the neurosciences for Mayo Clinic with creative writing and is the author of a graduate textbook on right brain damage, a memoir of her family’s time in China, essays, and flash fiction.
Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
From a village in Nova Scotia to the trenches of France, P. S. Duffy s astonishing debut showcases a rare talent emerging in midlife. When his beloved brother-in-law goes missing at the front in 1916, Angus defies his pacifist upbringing to join the war and find him. Assured a position as a cartographer in London, he is instead sent directly into battle. Meanwhile, at home, his son Simon Peter must navigate escalating hostility in a town torn by grief. Selected as both a Barnes & Noble Discover pick and one of the American Bookseller Association s Debut Dozen, The Cartographer of No Man s Land offers a soulful portrayal of World War I and the lives that were forever changed by it, both on the battlefield and at home."
