Ready for the River.

by Neal Bell

The drama begins on the site of the foreclosed farm of Doris, her estranged husband, Jim, and her daughter, Lorna. As Doris and Lorna reminisce about life before the foreclosure, they witness Jim take a shotgun, stalk and shoot the banker who came with the foreclosure notice. Doris and Lorna flee the scene, fearing the same fate. On the highway, as mother and daughter relentlessly drive, the question Lorna asks, "How far away is far enough?" is also telltale of the stormy relationship between the scenes blur reality, memories and dreams create powerful descriptions of lives as desolate as the abandoned farms of the heartland. Along the way, Lorna and Doris have some strange company in the car, including the son of the dead banker and also what seems to be the dead banker himself. After a series of stops and close calls, mother and daughter arrive exhausted at a motel where they learn that they are free of the threat of violence. With this news, Doris must face the fact that the independence she and Lorna finally found will accelerate to separation as Lorna goes off to start a life of her own.

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Neal Bell is an American playwright and screenwriter. Bell has written such plays as the thriller Two Small Bodies, as well as co-writing the screenplay for the Two Small Bodies film adaptation.

Bell has written other plays such as On the Bum, Somewhere in the Pacific, Monster, Operation Midnight Climax, Therese Raquin and Spatter Pattern (Or, How I Got Away With It).