Oh, friends!!! I am completely thrilled by this news: The People We Keep is a nominee for @bookofthemonth’s Book of the Year Award! (Fun fact: the award is called The Lolly, after Lolly Willowes, which was the very first BOTM selection in 1926!) Thank you so much, @rachelbilson for choosing TPWK for BOTM and making this possible! After all the time I spent fighting for this book — for April — to be exactly what my heart told me to write, I’m just so amazed and thankful to be on this list! I’m still overwhelmed by all the love you’ve all shared with me since The People We Keep came out through BOTM in July. It’s more than I ever could have hoped for to get to connect with so many readers this way. I’m deeply grateful for you, and all of your support and your beautiful pictures and heartfelt reviews. I know The People We Keep is on this list because of your support. Thank you. So very much. And if The People We Keep was your book of the year, I would, of course, be honored if you voted for me (& April) at BookoftheYear.com. And if you have friends who are Book of the Month members I’d love it if you’d pass this along to them too! Thank you so much!
Hi Allison! I am late to the party in reading TPWK, but I’m glad that I finally got there. I bought a copy to read on the plane as my husband and I traveled to London for our COVID-delayed maiden voyage to Europe. Immersed in the story of April’s life in Little Falls, I could not believe it when she showed up in Ithaca! My husband and I met at IC in 1979, and hearing your descriptions of the town and the area brought me right back to that magical place. I knew that you had an intimate connection to Ithaca right away, and I wasn’t surprised to learn that you were a Bomber as well. Thank you for the incredible story and the trip down memory lane!