Celia Ryker discusses Augusta: A Novel (new date)

We are pleased to host the Vermont launch of Augusta, a new novel by local writer, Celia Ryker.

Raised on a hard-knock farm in Arkansas and married off to the father of one of her classmates at the age of thirteen the protagonist, Augusta, was not set up for a life of bliss.  Abandoned by her second husband in 1920s Detroit, with four children to provide for, she is forced into a decision that will haunt her forever.

From the author of Walking Home, this historical novel is based on the true story of her grandmother, a woman who lived on a lake and taught her how to catch snakes; a woman who fled the hardships of the Ozarks at the turn of the twentieth century for a new city and the chance at a better life.

“Augusta is an ideal blend of storytelling and family history, wit and heartache, persistence and vulnerability.” —Shawn T Anderson, former League of Vermont Writers president

Celia Ryker has been a horse trainer, horticulturalist, and hiker. Celia trained horses and taught students on Southeast Michigan’s hunter-jumper circuit for more than 30 years. Her second career sent her back to school to study gardening fine arts and landscape design. She has kept journals and written short stories and poems all of her life, attending classes and writing seminars. She has contributed articles for newsletters, local newspapers, and The Vermont League of Writers. Celia and her husband Don live in Vermont and Michigan.

Note: this event was originally scheduled for January and postponed until February 21.