Go Away Home

by Carol Bodensteiner

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Pub Date Jul 07 2015 | Archive Date Aug 04 2015

Lake Union Publishing

General Fiction (Adult) | Women's Fiction

Description

For an Iowa farm girl in 1913, Liddie Treadway has big dreams. She yearns to move to town, learn a trade, and live on her own. With encouragement from career-minded Aunt Kate, her goals seem within reach—until her unmarried sister is sent away for becoming pregnant and her father dies in a tragic accident. Now the family needs Liddie more than ever, and she’s certain she’ll be trapped on the farm for good.

The Treadways’ hired man, Joe Bauer, has dreams of his own: to marry and settle down. So when a woman he’s been courting breaks his heart, he leaves Iowa to start over, just as Liddie finally gets her chance to take a seamstress apprenticeship in town…

Though they’re separated by miles, Liddie’s friendship with Joe grows as they write to each other about their new lives. But when Joe returns, will Liddie have to choose between worldly independence and the conventional path of love and family? Or can she have it all?

Revised edition: This edition of Go Away Home includes editorial revisions.

A Note From the Publisher

Born in Iowa and raised on her family’s dairy farm, Carol Bodensteiner graduated from the University of Northern Iowa and Drake University. She built a career in public relations and marketing before turning to creative writing, and she has worked as a freelance writer for the Iowan magazine and the Des Moines Register. Bodensteiner published the memoir Growing Up Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl in 2008. Go Away Home is her first novel. She currently lives with her husband near Des Moines, Iowa.

Advance Praise

Go Away Home is the perfect story of coming home. If you've ever had bigger dreams than your current circumstances allow then you know exactly how Liddie feels living on a farm and dreaming of the big city. Excellent characters and an extremely realistic plot made this a great book that I know I will be reading again. --Samantha Rivera for Readers' Favorite

Go Away Home is all about: evolution, change, and transition points ... the atmosphere of the heartland, of family ties, and of new opportunities permeate this tale of choices, dreams realized and rejected, and how values evolve ... As a coming of age novel, Go Away Home holds more complexity than most, making it a recommendation for mature teens as well as adult readers who will find it gently compelling and highly believable." --D. Donovan, reviewer, Midwest Book Review

Go Away Home is a coming-of-age novel that is well-written, compelling, and endearing. There is a strong sense of place, excellent character development, and an engaging plot line. I highly recommend Carol Bodensteiner's new novel. -- Kara Logsden, Iowa City Public Library

I couldn't put Go Away Home down. With 40+ pages to go at my bedtime, Liddie won out. I learned so much about life in rural Iowa back then; I came to care so much about Liddie and her extended family; I appreciated Bodensteiner's ability to show -- including showing Fred through his absence. No wonder Go Away Home already garnered an award. -- Mary Kay Shanley, author of She Taught Me To Eat Artichokes

Go Away Home is the perfect story of coming home. If you've ever had bigger dreams than your current circumstances allow then you know exactly how Liddie feels living on a farm and dreaming of the...