Release Date: May 12, 2026
About The Book:
In her captivating memoir, Deborah K. Shepherd examines her first great love, with a man thirty-four years her senior. In 1968 and at age 21, Shepherd ditched college in Tucson for hippie life in New York. When that soured, she found a low-level corporate job, where she
met Bill Shepherd, an unhappily married, 55-year-old senior executive. That they had a fling is unsurprising for the time. What is surprising is that they stayed together for twenty years and two children, despite their age gap, differing religions, and society’s expectations.
With today’s perspective, and the benefits of both age and hindsight, Shepherd revisits her past, scouring old letters and asking tough questions, of herself and about romantic love, religious roots, judgement from others, and feminism. But she offers no easy answers in what becomes a powerful, engrossing, and unforgettable read about an unlikely love.
About The Author:
DEBORAH K. SHEPHERD’S first novel, So Happy Together, was published in 2021 when she was 74. Her essays have appeared in Oldster Magazine; Fauxmoir; Motherwell Magazine; Herstry; Eat. Darling, Eat; Persimmon Tree, and more, and her Covid-themed essay was a winner in the Center for Interfaith Relations 2020 Sacred Essay Contest. A retired social worker, she spent much of her career focused on the prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault and the provision of services to survivors. The mother of two and grandmother of two, Deborah lives in Maine with her husband and one sweet, jaunty rescue dog. Learn more at www.deborahshepherdwrites.com
Social Media:
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/deborahshepherdauthor
Book Blurbs:
“… an insightful, tender and generous account of Deborah K. Shepherd’s May-December marriage to her first husband. It’s a tribute and a confession wrapped in a love story, bringing the reader deep into the nuances of youth, aging and the mysterious power of connection. I didn’t want it to end.-Blair Glaser, author of This Incredible Longing
“…pulls triple-duty as a love story, an interrogation of feminism, and a front-row seat to a generation’s worth of significant events in American history. In compelling prose… readers are allowed inside the author’s awareness of all the ways her personal story might seem to contradict what we think we know about men and women, power dynamics, families, and what love can look like when we’re open to all possibilities. Right until the last page, Shepherd’s story denies us easy answers, and we are better for having lingered in the questions she poses.”-Penny Guisinger, author of Shift: A Memoir of Identity and OtherIllusions and Postcards from Here
Bloggers On Tour:
Aug. 15th- Lindas Book Obsession https://www.facebook.com/lindasbookobsession/
Aug. 15th- Books and Coffee MX https://instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx
Aug. 19th- Novels and Latte Book Club –https://www.facebook.com/groups/357651988042629
Aug. 20th – Nurse Bookie https://instagram.com/nurse_bookie
Aug. 22nd – Books Love And Understanding https://instagram.com/booksloveandunderstanding
Aug. 26th- Reading Is My Remedy https://instagram.com/reading_is_my_remedy
Aug. 27th- Marilyn Goncalves https://instagram.com/marilynjgon
Aug. 30th-Subakka Bookstuff https://instagram.com/subakka.bookstuff
Sept. 3rd- Rozier Reads and Wine https://instagram.com/rozierreadsandwine
Sept. 6th- Miss W Book Reviews https://instagram.com/misswbookreviews
Sept. 10th- Christina Loves to Read https://www.instagram.com/christinaluvs2read
Sept. 25th- CMT Loves Wine and Books https://instagram.com/cmtloveswineandbooks
Sept. 26th- Nature Books and Coffee https://instagram.com/nature.books.and.coffee
Sept. 27th – Red Corset Reads https://www.instagram.com/redcorset_reads
Sept. 28th- Nissa The Bookworm https://instagram.com/nissa_the.bookworm
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