Into the Wilderness

Could two people be more different?

It’s 1964. Rose Mayer is recently widowed—Jewish, outspoken, and a lifelong Democrat from the city. Percy Mendell is a quiet Vermont farmer who has never married and has never voted for a Democrat in his life.

When they meet, sparks fly—but not the romantic kind.

Yet as the seasons turn across the rugged Vermont landscape, irritation gives way to curiosity, and curiosity to something far more unexpected. At sixty-four, both Rose and Percy have long believed their lives—and their opinions—are firmly set. Opening their hearts to each other will take humor, stubbornness, and more courage than either expected.

Set against the changing seasons and political tensions of the 1960s, Into the Wilderness is a tender, wise love story about second chances—and the surprising flexibility of the human heart.

Awarded the IPPY Gold Medal for Regional Fiction

About the Author

Deborah Lee Luskin moved from New York City to Vermont in 1984 to write, garden, keep bees, and raise daughters. She has been an editorial columnist, radio commentator, pen-for-hire, and blogger. Luskin also enjoyed a long career as an educator. Engaged in civic life, Luskin practiced restorative justice as a volunteer at the Brattleboro Community Justice Center and served as the elected Town Moderator in Newfane, Vermont. She holds a PhD English Literature, the obvious training for becoming a homesteader, deer-hunter, and writer. Reviving Artemis: The Making of a Huntress, her memoir, tells the story of coming-of-age at sixty and finding her place in the natural world.

Praise for Into the Wilderness

“The book is a complex love letter to Vermont.”
—The Commons, Windham County’s Independent Weekly

“Into the Wilderness is a fiercely intelligent love story.”
—The Rutland Herald

“Deborah Lee Luskin weaves together an enchanting tale of solitude, friendship and romance in her novel, Into the Wilderness.”
—The Jewish Advocate