Maps for the Getaway: A Novel

Description

If you love Susan Mallery, you won't want to miss this novel of three high school friends who find themselves emotionally fractured when tragedy strikes, so they go on a road trip they'll never forget and rediscover what made them "best friends forever." It was the road trip of their lives . . . and they did it without a map. When they posed for a photo at their high school graduation, they vowed they'd be friends forever, but teenage promises are so easily broken, and now, thirty years later, they're practically strangers. Cici-stuck in a rut, married to a cheating husband. Genie-caring for her ailing father but never getting any thanks. Kate-everyone knows people who look perfect on Instagram are not. And Laurie-the most successful of them all-now tragically gone. So, to celebrate Laurie's life, three former friends in a 1962 red Lincoln Continental convertible take the road trip of their lives-encountering male strippers, a boy band that has seen better days, crazy motel rooms, adopting a so-ugly-it's-cute stray dog...and discovering that it's never too late to live the wild life. Because, sometimes, to find yourself you have to get away.

Annie England Noblin lives with her son, husband, and four rescued bulldogs in the Missouri Ozarks. She graduated with an M.A. in Creative Writing from Missouri State University and currently teaches English for Arkansas State University. Her poetry has been featured in such publications as the Red Booth Review and the Moon City Review, and she co-edited and co-authored the coffee-table book Gillioz: Theatre Beautiful.

"Feelgood fiction at its finest. Annie England Noblin has crafted an utterly entertaining tale of unexpected chances and small-town secrets, and it's as sweet and comforting as a hand-knit sweater and a warm puppy in your lap." - Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author, on St. Francis Society for Wayward Pets "Noblin's masterful touch hits the sweet spot of humor and tragedy in this heart-felt book about the truest meaning of family, friends, abandoned dogs, and love, amidst a weave of plot-twisting heroics." - Jacqueline Sheehan, New York Times bestselling author, on St. Francis Society for Wayward Pets "I was immediately enchanted! Lively and heartfelt, the characters-both human and four legged-in Annie England Noblin's St Francis Society for Wayward Pets come alive. I adored it." - Lori Foster, New York Times bestselling author "Annie England Noblin is an incredibly gifted storyteller. St. Francis Society for Wayward Pets is heartfelt, charming, and funny." - Meg Donohue, author of How to Eat a Cupcake, on Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe "Noblin's books are known for their connection to pets, and the animals are present here... Despite some heavy subject matter...the story is funny and light. Readers will bond with Maeve and her sweet disposition." - Booklist on St. Francis Society for Wayward Pets