But in an election year, seeking answers to questions of infidelity is not an option. When her mother gives her a family heirloom, a travel trunk owned by an ancestor, she finds a distraction. As she immerses herself in its contents, she discovers a woman whose life is vastly different from her own. Or is it? Determined to dispel the notion that her ancestor Marit was insane, Rachel sets out to unveil her unknown story.
In the interwoven narratives of these two women, who are bound by blood and a shared struggle, The Blue Trunk is a poignant exploration of identity, love, and unwavering strength. Get The Blue Trunk at Amazon. Imagine you have only a brief minute to tell someone what your book is about. Can you tell us, in two sentences, what your book is about and make us want to read it? My mother was in possession of a blue travel trunk that had been used by my great-great aunt when she immigrated from Norway to Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
She was insane. It was odd because I found quite a bit of information on my great-great grandmother who had immigrated with her. I then decided to research insane asylums to see if I could find any records of her.
Again, I hit a dead end. I also was unable to find a death certificate for her. Then I discovered the asylum cemetery in my hometown. I spent my first 18 years living in that town and never knew of the existence of the Old Orchard Cemetery, aka the Cemetery of the unknown. As you walk among these unassuming gravestones, you will see that some only have names, no birth or death dates, and some are unknown. Many of the older gravestones memorialize persons who spent their entire adult lives in the county asylum.
I guess that was because only a few trusted people in my writing group were reading my work. But as I finished and realized I was going to actually put this out into the world, I did face moments of fear translateβterror. Writers have a personal slant on what they are writing just as readers have a personal spin on what they read.
