The Weight of Snow and Regret

by Elizabeth Gauffreau

For over 100 years, no one wanted to be sent to the Sheldon Poor Farm. By 1968, no one wanted to leave.

Amid the social turmoil of 1968, the last poor farm in Vermont is slated for closure. By the end of the year, the twelve destitute residents remaining will be dispatched to whatever institutions will take them, their personal stories lost forever.

Hazel Morgan and her husband Paul have been matron and manager at the Sheldon Poor Farm for the past 20 years. Unlike her husband, Hazel refuses to believe the impending closure will happen. She believes that if she just cares deeply enough and works hard enough, the Sheldon Poor Farm will continue to be a safe haven for those in need, herself and Paul included.

On a frigid January afternoon, the overseer of the poor and the town constable from a nearby town deliver a stranger to the poor farm for an emergency stay. She refuses to tell them her name, where she came from, or what her story is. It soon becomes apparent to Hazel that whatever the woman's story is, she is deeply ashamed of it.

Hazel fights to keep the stranger with them until she is strong enough to face, then resume, her life--while Hazel must face the tragedies of her own past that still haunt her.

Told with compassion and humor, The Weight of Snow & Regret tells the poignant story of what it means to care for others in a rapidly changing world.

Genres: Historical Fiction

400 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2025

About the author

Elizabeth Gauffreau writes fiction and poetry with a strong connection to family and place. Her work has been widely published in literary magazines, as well as several themed anthologies. Her short story “Henrietta’s Saving Grace” was awarded the 2022 Ben Nyberg prize for fiction by Choeofpleirn Press.

She has published a novel, TELLING SONNY, and two collections of photopoetry: GRIEF SONGS: POEMS OF LOVE & REMEMBRANCE and SIMPLE PLEASURES: HAIKU FROM THE PLACE JUST RIGHT. Her second novel, THE WEIGHT OF SNOW AND REGRET, based on the closing of the last poor farm in Vermont in 1968, is forthcoming October 1, 2025.

Liz's professional background is in nontraditional higher education, including academic advising, classroom and online teaching, curriculum development, and program administration. She received the Granite State College Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018. Liz lives in Nottingham, New Hampshire with her husband. Find her online at https://lizgauffreau.

Reviews

[Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while) · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCERPT: By 1968, new arrivals at the Sheldon Poor Farm were rare, just the occasional pitiful soul too infirm or senile for their families to bother with them anymore. Even the derelicts no longer appeared at their door seeking a fresh start, only to drift into drink once more after a decent meal and a good delousing.
Hazel and Paul had seen so many of those old rounders come and go over the years. Buried a few, too, in the farm's cemetery down the road. Each time Paul looked into an open grave, he pronounced its intended occupant a "poor bastard", while Hazel murmured, "No mother's son should come to such an end as this."

ABOUT 'THE WEIGHT OF SNOW AND REGRET': For over 100 years, no one wanted to be sent to the Sheldon Poor Farm. By 1968, no one wanted to leave.

Amid the social turmoil of 1968, the last poor farm in Vermont is slated for closure. By the end of the year, the twelve destitute residents remaining will be dispatched to whatever institutions will take them, their personal stories lost forever.

Hazel Morgan and her husband Paul have been matron and manager at the Sheldon Poor Farm for the past 20 years. Unlike her husband, Hazel refuses to believe the impending closure will happen. She believes that if she just cares deeply enough and works hard enough, the Sheldon Poor Farm will continue to be a safe haven for those in need, herself and Paul included.

On a frigid January afternoon, the overseer of the poor and the town constable from a nearby town deliver a stranger to the poor farm for an emergency stay. She refuses to tell them her name, where she came from, or what her story is. It soon becomes apparent to Hazel that whatever the woman's story is, she is deeply ashamed of it.

Hazel fights to keep the stranger with them until she is strong enough to face, then resume, her life--while Hazel must face the tragedies of her own past that still haunt her.

MY THOUGHTS: While, as far as I am aware, poor farms were not a thing in New Zealand, our "feeble minded", crippled and PTSD sufferers were cared for in psychiatric hospitals in long term wards where they became one another's families.

Elizabeth Gauffreau's The Weight of Snow and Regret brought back many memories of the long-term residents I cared for in my years as a psychiatric nurse. She has beautifully and realistically captured the connections, the relationships, the fears and hopes and dreams 0f those that society wants to forget.

Yet, in many ways, they were so much better off being cared for like this than being abandoned as they all too often are today, living on the streets, in shop doorways and under bridges because there is nowhere else for them, no one to care for them.

Elizabeth Gauffreau has written a compassionate and touching account of these people and those who care for them. What wonderful characters she has created.
Hazel is the constant throughout this novel. Losing everything as a child, she gives everything as an adult.
Claire had no idea where taking a break from her life as a wife and mother to listen to music would take her.
Petey who is happy as long as he has his horse with him.
Sweet Joey who always wants to help.
Philo Roy who departed to Florida at the first sign of winter and didn't return until spring.
And so many more.

These characters touched both my heart and my soul, as did the story of hardship and loss that is skillfully woven around both Hazel and Claire.

In her author's note, Elizabeth Gauffreau tells how she came to write The Weight of Snow and Regret; a note worth reading. She has struck just the right balance between fact and fiction, just as she has between sadness and joy in the characters' lives. She reminds us through her writing that every individual has a story and every individual has worth.

A read I will never forget.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#TheWeightofSnowandRegret

MEET THE AUTHOR: ELIZABETH GAUFFREAU At various times in my life, I have been a preacher’s kid, a Navy wife, a Woolworth’s counter girl, and a Latin teacher at a dying private academy next to a cornfield in Virginia.

All of these stories have inspired the fiction I write.

I am drawn to the inner lives of other people–what they care about, what they most desire, what causes them pain, what brings them joy.

These inner lives become my characters. I am here to share their stories. (source: lizgauffreau.com)

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to author Elizabeth Gauffreau for providing a copy of her novel The Weight of Snow and Regret for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

[Bonnie DeMoss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louisiana, June 1967. Claire is working for her husband Roland’s furniture business. She has a good home and a daughter, but this is about to change. She suddenly begins to hear music which draws her inexplicably to its source, a bar where white people don’t generally go and where a musician works his magic. Before the summer is over, she will have walked away from her husband and daughter to follow the music, and by the dawn of 1968, she is sent to the Sheldon Poor Farm in Vermont.

Vermont, 1927. After her father dies, Hazel, her mother, and her brother end up at the Sheldon Poor Farm, which houses the elderly, mentally ill, and others in need. Before long, Hazel has faced more death, is alone, and is sent away to work. But then she meets her husband, Paul, and years later, desperate for jobs, Hazel and Paul are hired to manage the Sheldon Poor Farm.

This masterfully written, heartbreaking story begins with Claire’s arrival at the poor farm, describes the “Summer of Love” in 1967 when she ends up “crossing the line,” looks back to 1927 and beyond with Hazel, and ends with the closure of Vermont’s last poor farm in 1968.

The personalities of the Sheldon Poor Farm residents are so vividly painted that I could see and hear them as clearly as if they were in the room with me. They and the caretakers are the essence of the poor farm at the end of its “life,” for the farm’s closure is like a death. Claire’s journey is one of inexplicable choices, loss, and regret, but closes with some hope. Hazel’s story is layered and richly woven, and through her we see the literal meaning of the title, The Weight of Snow and Regret. Highly recommended.

I received a free PDF via The Historical Novel Society. I also purchased a copy. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

[Sally Cronin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In our world there has always been those who are either shunned by society or who find themselves lost and homeless, usually down to circumstances beyond their control. This story follows the lives of several men, women and children who have found themselves needing a sanctuary, a roof over their heads, however desperate it might be, over a period of over 40 years.

Hazel knows only too well the devastation of tragedy, loss and the burden of charity at a very young age. She also learns about human nature, and sees the compassion and generous spirit of those who have very little, or are considered feeble-minded. This makes her the perfect guardian for those still living in the poor farm when she returns as matron, and for those newer residents, desperately in need of kind and loving care.

This book is profoundly moving, as the back story of Hazel and her husband Paul is revealed. Most people would be hardened to the suffering of others because of their own losses, but despite his gruff exterior, Paul and his wife are determined to create a far better life for those they care for.

This includes Claire, found wandering, cold and lost as she seeks a safe place to find a new path in her life. As her story unfolds we share her spiral into depression as a wife and mother, questioning everything around her except for her compelling need to follow the sound of music she hears in the night. Coming into the warmth of the care of Hazel, may be the best way to find that new path.

Each character is carefully crafted and there is a definite sense of being amongst them as they manage each difficult day. There is a growing concern for them as their time at the poor farm comes to an end, despite their carer’s desperate efforts to keep them together. The residents are heading off to a future which must seem terrifying for many of them, but for some it holds hope for a new beginning.

This is important social history, carefully researched and written to involve the reader at every stage, leaving them grateful for what they enjoy on a daily basis, and a reminder that still, for too many there is a need for a safe haven from life. Highly recommended.

[Carol (Reading Ladies) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Weight of Snow and Regret is a gritty and poignant story of a Poor Farm in rural Vermont in 1968.

In 1968, the last Poor Farm in Vermont is targeted for closure. What will happen to its twelve residents? Hazel and Paul have managed the Poor Farm for twenty years. Paul is a realist, and Hazel works hard to keep it open. One day, a catatonic stranger shows up for an emergency stay. Who is she and what is her story?

Hazel, compassionate, strong, and kind-hearted, gives it her all as she manages a home for the homeless and the destitute—an unsung hero. As the story progresses, we learn about each resident and their unique “found family” community. When a catatonic stranger arrives carrying a heavy load of regret, elements of mystery and intrigue become part of the narrative.

While this is a heavily character-driven story with richly developed main characters who are persistent, dedicated, and resilient, it also has action to propel the story forward. Will the Poor Farm close? What will happen to the residents? What circumstances brought the stranger to their community?

Throughout history, society has employed various methods of caring for others. I appreciate this close look at one of the last Poor Farms in the U.S.

What about today? There may be homeless shelters and food banks available today, but who is CARING for the destitute? Is the need outpacing the resources? How do you know for sure that the person asking for money at the corner really needs our help, or will our financial contribution finance a drug addiction?

Content Consideration: mental health, poverty, toxic relationship

Fans of character-driven stories with social themes, will find a great deal to appreciate in The Weight of Snow and Regret. This well-written and well-researched work of literary fiction is memorable in many ways.

Thanks #NetGalley @BookSirens | Paul Stream Press for a complimentary eARC of #TheWeightOfShowAndRegret upon my request. All opinions are my own.

For more reviews visit my blog www.readingladies.com where this review was first published.

[Gail Meath · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was in awe after reading Elizabeth Gauffreau’s unique poetry book, and now, she gifts readers with The Weight of Snow and Regret, a truly extraordinary and heartfelt story about Sheldon’s Poor House, the last poor farm in Vermont.

The book takes place in 1968, when the (true) 100-year-old poorhouse is on the verge of closing. It follows the lives of the last twelve residents, most specifically, Hazel and her husband, the caretakers of the farm, and Claire, a new resident.

I am struggling to find the right words to describe this book. To say it is a story that will stay with you a long time is an understatement. It is extremely well-written, very detailed, and meticulously researched. Yet, the characters and their backgrounds drive the story forward and grip your attention throughout. Both Hazel and Claire had me on the verge of tears a few times as I read about their past plights.

This book is an amazing read, and I highly recommend it to every historical fiction reader!!

[Audrey Driscoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poignant novel is both literary and historical fiction. It presents a detailed and sometimes harrowing picture of the lives of ordinary Americans in the twentieth century. “Ordinary,” here means working-class and not notorious or well-known in any way. But as individuals, they do not deserve that description. Especially Hazel, the main point-of-view character. Despite a childhood of poverty and devastating losses, Hazel is a woman of great compassion, who takes charge of the many challenges life hands her. As the matron of the last poor farm in Vermont, she unfailingly provides the residents in her care with food, warmth, cleanliness, and dignity. Reading about how hard she works at scrubbing, cleaning, and cooking made me feel both weariness and admiration.

Woven into the story of Hazel’s experiences as both a resident and a manager of the poor farm is the trajectory of her marriage to Paul, a conscientious and stubborn man, in his own way as admirable as she. Their ups and downs through several decades are both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

The residents of the poor farm are shown as distinct individuals through their quirks and ways of speaking. There are frequent moments of humour and near-chaos, but the sense of community and family are unmistakable. I must admit that I found the story of Claire, a woman who is delivered to the poor farm on a cold January day, to be a somewhat awkward fit with the rest of the book. Although interesting, it was unresolved and felt as though it deserved a book of its own.

The narrative is delivered in clear, straightforward prose. Even situations of high drama and tragedy are presented in words that say exactly what is happening but without superfluous ornamentation or excessive description.

This book is also a snapshot of the year 1968, mainly through the television programs watched by the poor farm’s residents. I was reminded of watching Walter Cronkite deliver news of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, the war in Vietnam, and riots and police brutality at home. Readers of a certain age will appreciate this visit to a time long past. Those who did not live through those times will nevertheless relate to some of the scenes and situations. The indifference of faceless bureaucrats for those who are poor and disabled has not changed that much.

[Chris Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this superbly-written novel, even though the story had so many dreadful happenings. All through that book it was often quite difficult to stomach some of the sadness and death, but it was worth it – every penny.

The story revolves around the Sheldon Poor Farm, and it’s accurate with its history from Vermont; the last kind of institution remained and was run like this.

The main protagonist, Hazel, was such an interesting character. At the start of the book, in 1968, it was clear that she was a very competent woman and with her husband, Paul, they lived and worked in that poor farm, looking after a dozen residents, who were unable to look after themselves.

Then the story delves down to explain what happened to Hazel. Back in 1927, she was a young girl, and the various challenges, sadnesses and death she experienced. Heart-breaking. There is a fine line between emotion and pathos and yet, this author has trumped it every time.

A fascinating and clearly well-researched read, replete with beautiful prose and keen observation, I can't recommend this novel highly enough.

[Darlene Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a heart-wrenching story, well written by an author I admire. The time is 1968, and the last remaining poor farm in Vermont is about to be closed down. Hazel and Paul Morgan have been managing the poor farm for the past twenty years with efficiency and care. They are upset that it will be closed and are concerned about where the remaining residents will go to live. Because of her own tragic childhood, Hazel has a great deal of empathy for the people in her care. All the characters in the story are well described and very real. Everyone is a survivor in their own way. My heart broke for Hazel many times, and although her husband, Paul, is a bit difficult at times, his heart is in the right place. There has obviously been a lot of research done by the author, and the writing is strong because of it. The scenes are descriptive and emotional, and the era of the late 60s is well depicted. An exceptional story that will stick with you for a long time. I look forward to more from this author.

[Marsha Ingrao · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Weight of Snow and Regret by Liz Gauffreau is one of the most remarkable and touching books I’ve read. It takes place in the 60s, when all poorhouses in the United States were being closed.

We readers first see the poor farm and Hazel, its matron, through the eyes of a woman named Claire when the constable drives her in the freezing cold away from her home. He struggles with where to take her after the doctor says she’s not insane or sick, and finally settles on the Poor Farm.

Poor farms were government-run institutions where people unable to support themselves were removed and taken against their will. The constable and even her husband labeled the residents of the Sheldon Poor Farm as inmates. Hazel was passionate about calling them residents.

You have to love the descriptive writing as Hazel describes Claire. “Even her eyes seemed frozen in her face, as if mere minutes ago she had witnessed a horrific event. … Hazel could not recall ever seeing anyone look so cold, as if the marrow of her bones had seized, and she were freezing from the inside out.”p. 15

Claire doesn’t seem to know why or where she is going. The reader learns much later why it was so important to Hazel to get her a blanket and get her warm, no matter what else had to be done.

Hazel and her husband, Paul, made the Sheldon Poor Farm a welcome place for the people who had to live there. All of the characters in this story were compelling, and there were only a few that were flat or undeveloped.

One of my favorite scenes, though tragic, revealed the compassion of all the characters, especially Hazel.

“As Hazel reached for some tumblers, Joey, Charlie, and Edna appeared at her side. All three had on their winter coats.

‘The man got shot,’ Joey announced. ‘I’m taking my friends outside.’

Before Hazel could react, he took Edna’s hand and the three of them left the kitchen.

When the front door opened and closed, Paul stepped out of his office and yanked the front door open. ‘Where do you think you are going?’

‘Outside,’ Joey said. “The man got shot.’

…’Can’t a man finish reading the paper in peace for once? Go down there and change the damn channel, Hazel.” p. 170

The author skillfully knits this story together with flashbacks from the 1920s to the recent past, different periods in Hazel’s life. We begin to understand how and why Hazel wove each resident into her family, and why Paul held the entire operation together.

Because the story starts with Claire and traces her backstory, I expected her to play a more central role in the book. However, she serves to move the plot along and introduce the reader to the other residents. The reader learns how they interact with each other and with Hazel, the matron. Also, through Claire, we watch a person being forcibly removed from somewhere they were not wanted. We listen to the constable and other officials decide where she should be taken: the Sheldon Poor Farm, the St. Albans’ Jail, or the State Hospital in Waterbury.

This book is so carefully and intricately knitted together that you feel every stitch and notice all the broken ones. You can hardly put it down lest you lose your place and create a hole in the garment.

This is one of the few books I’ve read in my life where I could read it several times and discover nuances each time. It deserves all five stars and then some.

[Joy Kidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkably written, this historical novel sets the reader into the lives of a dozen abandoned folks, cared for at a poor farm during the 1950s and 1960s. Caretaker Hazel brings her own challenging past to the job, but also her compassion, for individuals with such sad stories. Among several with mental health issues, some residents are profane, some funny, some bedridden, pointing out the difficulties Hazel and her husband deal with day in and day out. A temporary lodger is Claire, as a result of sorry decisions leading to the loss of her family. becoming "a trespasser in the land of other people's misery." I especially enjoyed the author's notes.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sheldon Poor Farm, the last of a number in Virginia, as well as the last-chance saloon for those who nobody else wants; the poor, the infirm, the destitute, the wandering in mind and the senile. Like poor Elsie, put there by daughters who’ll never come to see her, but who she’s daily awaiting to come and take her home. Like unpredictable Lisa, Emmett with his night terrors, Beatrice and her ‘boyfriend’ Carl as well as Carmi, Charlie, Flossie, Joey, Edna and Homer, all burdened with their own issues. Then there’s a new admission, the ‘mentally retarded’ local Petey, cared for all his life by his sister, until she has a stroke and he’s brought to the Farm because he can’t care for himself.
 
Before Petey, however, comes Claire, a stranger, exhausted, silent, unresponsive, delivered there in the middle of winter by a local lawman, Johnny Clough, and Dwight Demers, overseer of the institution, as an emergency measure. She’s not eligible to become a permanent resident, and the overseer insists she must be gone within two weeks. That’s not the immediate concern of Hazel, matron of the home for over twenty years, along with the manager, her husband Paul. The permanency of Claire’s stay, along with that of the other dozen long-term residents, is a moot point, because the home is tagged for closure within the year, something to which Hazel is opposed, and hopes that by refusing to think of it, the closure will never happen.
 
Hazel has a history with the Farm, pre-dating her residency as matron, and which could have rendered her hardened, cold and unfeeling. On the contrary, however, she’s gentle and patient with the residents, treating them with compassion and respect as human beings, however downtrodden and disabled life has made them. We hear her story, along with that of Claire, as examples of how anybody has the potential to end in such a place; a sobering thought indeed.
 
The existence of these Poor Farms was something of which I was unaware, and despite The Weight of Snow and Regret being set in 1968 Vermont, USA, it has a Dickensian feel, that of the poorhouses of nineteenth century Victorian Britain, where a board of trustees decided who was poor and destitute enough to have the town’s charity expended upon them. The Sheldon Poor Farm was a real institution, situated not far from where author Elizabeth Gauffreau resides, and the reason for her researching and writing this story based on the social history of her locality. She’s done a wonderful job, weaving together fact and fiction to come up with a cast of finely-drawn characters set against a background of depression, despair and destitution. It has to be one of the saddest and yet noblest stories I’ve ever read.

[Terry Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I was attracted to this book because I just loved the title, which I find poetic and rather beautiful.

The story centres around Sheldon Poor Farm in Vermont, which did actually exist, as I read about in the author's notes in the back. Hazel and her husband Paul run the farm in rural Vermont; here, they take in those who might otherwise have had nowhere else to go, aside from possibly a mental institution. It has existed in several incarnations for some decades, but in 1968 it faces closure.

The book opens with the arrival of the Claire, who is clearly in the throes of a mental breakdown of sorts, which has been taking place for some time. Hazel takes the uncommunicative mystery woman under her wing.

The first half of the book alternates between the points of view of Hazel and Claire, as we learned what happened to the latter to bring her to this point in her life. Later, we travel back to 1927 to learn about the heartbreaking story of Hazel's childhood, and how she recovers from disaster after disaster, loss after loss.

The story is so well structured; the author provides background just at the right point, setting up the intrigue and allowing the different elements and timeframes to weave together perfectly. I was so aware of the difference between Claire and Hazel's lives; Claire knew all about the changing culture of 1967 and 68, whereas in Sheldon Poor Farm life ticked by as it always had done, aside from when the residents were allowed to watch television and see some of the horrors taking place in the world, such as the murders of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.

Lovely book. I definitely recommend.

[Liam Sullivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

read a free copy of this book from the Library Thing Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review.  I don't think I would've finished the book otherwise. It's not that it's bad, it's well-written and has some interesting characterizations, it just failed to hold my attention.  I think part of my problems is that it's really two stories set against the same location, and the protagonist unexpectedly shifts partway through.

The book arrives with a young woman named Claire is dropped off at the Sheldon Poor Farm in rural Vermont.  At first, unable to speak she gradually comes out of her shell and begins helping care for the older residents of the farm.  We learn that for reasons even Claire doesn't understand, she left her husband and child in San Francisco to follow a musician.  Her efforts to reconcile with her angry husband brought her to Vermont.  This part of the book frequently references the current events of 1968 making it feel like Forrest Gump.  

Soon the book transitions to the life story of Hazel Morgan, who manages the Sheldon Poor Farm with her husband Paul.  Going back to the 1920s, we learn that Hazel grew up as an orphan on the farm, exploited by the managers.  We then follow her life over the ensuing decades and the circumstances which bring her back to the poor farm, now having the opportunity to offer more compassionate care.  Which brings us back to 1968 with Hazel opposing the state's plan to close the farm for good.

[Stevie Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this well-researched book in a few days. The Weight of Snow and Regret can be classed as ‘Faction’, as the Sheldon Poor Farm in Vermont was an actual place before it eventually burned down in 1978. The author has created mostly fictional characters, some down on their luck and some feeble-minded, who resided at the farm from the late 1920s to 1968. Chapters jump back and forth in time, but each year is clearly marked at the start of the chapter.

The book begins in 1968 with what I assumed was the main character, Claire. Claire has left her husband and child in order to ‘find herself’, but her life has not turned out the way she thought it would. However, Claire disappears halfway through the book and we don’t really get to discover what happens to her. I would have liked to know; perhaps there could have been some information added at the end along with the October 2025 update.

We then travel back to the 1920s, where Hazel survives challenges that no child should face. She and her older brother Sam end up at Sheldon Poor Farm until Sam decides to run away. Hazel is left to endure a young life full of hardship and physical work. On the way home from senior school one day she meets Paul, a man 13 years older than her, who offers to drive her back to the farm after she twists her ankle and cannot walk. It’s no wonder they eventually marry, as Paul seems the only person to show Hazel any kindness or compassion. When Paul loses his job, he is coincidentally offered the post of Manager at the Sheldon Poor Farm, and Hazel finds herself back there again but this time as Matron/Housekeeper in charge of cleaning up the general squalor and making sure all the residents are clean and fed.

This book will interest those who enjoy reading about other people’s misfortunes, as there is much unrelenting bad weather and misery between the pages, hence the well thought-out title. I suppose there’s not much to celebrate when people are reduced to staying at a poor farm, but it would have been perhaps nice to include one or two little positive moments (maybe Alice’s outcome?), to avoid too much depressing content.

I give this book on average 4 stars; the story itself 3 stars, and 5 stars for the amount of research that has gone into writing it.

[D.L. Finn · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Weight of Snow and Regret” is a historical fiction that focuses on the closing of Sheldon's Poor House and its history. Hazel has a long history with the poorhouse, with her youthful experience there and currently with her husband as caretakers. Though mainly told through her, it also dives into Claire and how she came to end up there. How she was drawn into music and pulled in a different direction than her family. Both of their stories captured my heart, and at times, I shed tears, especially for Hazel and the heartbreaks she suffered. A well-written and beautifully told story, it switches between the current time in the sixties to past events and lives. The research shone through, and I learned a lot about poorhouses that I didn’t know much about. The people and stories became real, and I found myself wanting the best for them. Untreated mental health led to the downfall of many, and it was sad to see how little was done for them. This is a book and characters I will think about long after I read the last page, and I can highly recommend it.

[Roberta Cheadle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a historical novel set at the Sheldon Poor Farm in Vermont which burned down in 1978. While the characters are fictional, they have been developed with meticulous attention to historical fact and they feel so real it is hard to believe they were not real residents. As indicated by the title, this is not a happy tale but, as with all human lives, there are moments of joy that make the sadder content easier to bear.

The story revolves around two women, Claire and Hazel, who meet at the Poor Farm in 1968 when Claire, in a state of destitution, is submitted into Hazel's care as the matron of the institution. Hazel, and her aging husband, Paul, have run the Poor Farm together for many years and are deeply attached to its remaining residents. It is clear from early in the story that the Poor Farm's days are numbered and the State is intending to close it down in the foreseeable future. The residents comprise of elderly people who have nowhere else to go and mental disabled people who are unable to look after themselves. The author's skillful pen brings each of them to life and they quickly find a place in the reader's heart. I felt especially attached to Hazel who spent a short period of her childhood at the Poor Farm following the deaths of her parents under soul destroying circumstances. Hazel is quickly left orphaned and sibling less and is removed from the Poor House where she has formed some attachments as children were not allowed to become permanent residents.

Some years later, Hazel returns to the Poor Farm with her husband in the joint roles of caretaker and matron. Hazel rekindles some of her lost relationships and the couple make a great success of running the institution. The closure decision by the State is a big blow to both of them.

Claire story is compelling as she is a woman from a middle class family who ends up at the Poor Farm as a result of ill advised decisions. She is bored with her life and irritated by her husband who is obsessed by his business. She acts on poor advice and ends up in a difficult situation culminating in her spending time at the Poor House, first as a resident and then as an employee. Other than the fact that Claire spends time at the Poor House, her story is not related to Hazel's and almost stands alone. Claire transitions out of the story and doesn't reenter it. I preferred Hazel's story and found her to be a much more stable and relatable character.

This is a heavy story and does not have many happy interludes. The one scene I really enjoyed was when Paul took Hazel to a dance at a 'posh' venue early in their marriage. That chapter was full of magic and delight and gave me a respite from the difficulties and drudgery of Hazel's life. This being said, Hazel's story is not unrealistic and I do believe her lot was very likely at that time in American history.

Paul was an interesting character. He was very much the male stereotype of the era and although he does seem to love Hazel in many ways, some of his attitudes and behaviours were oppressive. His decision to fight in World War II has far reaching results and his silent blaming of Hazel for unfortunate events was unreasonable. That part of the story was upsetting for me.

This is a well researched and compelling story along the lines of Dickens many works about social injustice and inequality and is topical given the current macro economic environment. It is a worthy read and does end on a relatively upbeat note. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy family dramas and stories about socio economic problems.

[Kenneth Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE WEIGHT OF SNOW AND REGRET by Elizabeth Gauffreau

Reviewed by Kenneth Robbins

It is January, 1968.

First, we meet Claire, the displaced, in this new and riveting novel. She is catatonic, in dire need of sustenance and comfort. We learn that she is in many ways a literary reminder of Henrik Ibsen’s iconic Nora Helmer, in a different time but a similar place, this time rural and wintry Vermont instead of Norway. Claire, like Nora, has forfeited her family and home in a dash for freedom and self-awareness, a dash that leaves her destitute and a ward of the county.

She is delivered to Hazel Morgan, her new caregiver, by Dwight Demers, the overseer of the poor with a heart bigger than one might think possible for a public servant. Hazel is the co-manager, along with her husband, Paul, of the Sheldon Poor Farm, a residence for the dispossessed. With Claire’s delivery, Grauffreau’s story of the American tradition of the poorhouse begins.

From the opening moments of this effective novel, readers are drawn to Claire, with full expectation that The Weight of Snow and Regret will be her story to command, only to discover that a mere half of it is hers, the portion dedicated to regret. The weight of snow belongs to Hazel, a remarkable creation of will, resilience, and humanity, as it is snow that causes several catastrophes with unforgettable results. But once again, there is a surprise. It is not Hazel, or the needy individuals that she nurtures, that comprise the protagonist of this tale: instead, it is the poorhouse itself that is the core of the action. This intriguing novel is a history of America’s efforts to tend to its outcasts and homeless. And it could not come at a more propitious time.

Grauffreau has peopled her story with a rich cross section of the needy, from Joey, the perpetual optimist, to Flossie, the wheelchair-ridden ninety-year-old castoff mother, to Petey, the mentally challenged lover of his mare. The residents of the Sheldon Poor Farm (don’t you dare call them “inmates”) provide a challenging and heartbreaking reminder of homelessness that surrounds all of us today. When the call for cost savings arrives, an action that is forecast from the beginning, resulting in the closing of the final poorhouse, we, the readers, thanks to the care and comfort provided by Hazel, Paul, and Dwight, cannot help but realize that we have lost something of immense importance. The divesting of the residents by county and state officials is one of the most moving sequences that I have encountered from the written word.

An aspect of this book that I find especially compelling is the close, impeccable and personal history of the American experience from the 1920s to 1969. The cultural upheaval of 1968 as experienced tangentially via television by the poorhouse residents will amaze and remind you of what this nation has survived. The Weight of Snow and Regret is a work of art, well researched, and lovingly structured. Elizabeth Grauffreau has given us a novel that has something to teach us as well as something to thrill us while it forges its way into the treasure chest of great American literature.

[Patricia Thrushart · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are few genres I enjoy more than historical fiction. There is something so satisfying to find an author who has the passion needed to deeply research a time, place or person in history, and then bring that story to life through imagination and craft. I especially enjoy when the historical focus is regional, the story lost in time, or the people forgotten. Then, the writer has the power to reestablish that place, that person, or that event in our collective memory through the magic of storytelling.

That’s exactly what author Elizabeth Gauffreau has accomplished in her latest novel, The Weight of Snow and Regret (to be published in October 2025). She explains
that she read an article in the Spring 1990 issue of the Vermont Daily Life Magazine about a “poor farm;” a place that over many decades provided care for indigent residents. She was surprised to learn that the farm was located just 7 miles from her childhood home. The Sheldon Poor Farm had operated well into the 1960s and yet she was completely unaware of its existence. That was all the spark it took for her to delve in to the story.

As fascinating as it is to learn that farming homesteads were once used to house and support the poor and homeless in rural New England, it’s the characters Gauffreau concocts that draws the reader into this world. The author deftly weaves together the disparate stories of a newly arrived woman, Claire, the assortment of people already living at the farm, the town officials, and most importantly, the caretakers, Hazel and Paul. Each character is richly developed.

It is no small challenge to use time travel in a historical novel to create backstories for the fictional characters in the book. And yet, these backstories are critical to developing multidimensional characters that the reader cares about. Too often, the treatment of time in historical novels can lead to boredom or confusion. Resorting to a purely chronological timeline can be tedious. Bouncing around the storyline can be confusing. Gauffreau handles this dilemma well in the book, titling her chapters and sections with the name of the character in focus and the date of the events. This allows her to treat time almost as a character itself, with the action of the story taking place non linearly. Without question, I cared deeply about what happened to these people as the novel progressed, thanks to their well-told backstories.

Another trap that Gauffreau avoids is an overly maudlin handling of people down on their luck. She does not simply rely on the drama of their poverty or their mental distress to create the impact of the story. Instead, in many ways, this novel is an exploration of the human condition, and of our intrinsic human nature. As Gauffreau points out in her notes at the end of the novel, many of the social issues inherent in the story are still applicable today.

The Weight of Snow and Regret is not a book to read to escape today’s social dilemmas and strife. And yet, it is uplifting. The central protagonists in the story persist. They are complex. They are resilient. They are courageous. And that, certainly, is a message for our time.

[Stephen Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 stars)
The Weight of Snow and Regret is the kind of historical fiction that stays with you long after you've turned the last page, not just because of the story, but because of the humanity Elizabeth
Gauffreau brings to forgotten history.

It's 1968, and the Sheldon Poor Farm in Vermont, the last poor farm in the state, is slated for closure. Twelve destitute residents will be dispersed to institutions by year's end, their personal stories lost forever. Hazel Morgan, the matron who's run the poor farm for 20 years alongside her husband Paul, refuses to believe it will happen. She believes that if she just cares deeply enough and works hard enough, she can keep this place, this haven, open for those who have nowhere else to go.

Then, on a frigid January afternoon, a stranger arrives. She won't give her name, won't say where she came from, won't tell anyone her story. But Hazel can see it, the woman is carrying shame so heavy it's crushing her. And Hazel is determined to keep her safe until she's strong enough to face whatever broke her.

What makes this extraordinary is Gauffreau's refusal to sentimentalize poverty or suffering. The poor farm isn't romanticized, it's hard, unglamorous work caring for people society has abandoned. But it's also sacred work, and Hazel's fierce dedication to these residents, even as the world is changing around her, is absolutely heartbreaking.

The historical detail is impeccable. Gauffreau clearly did deep research into poor farm life, the social upheaval of 1968, and the actual closing of Vermont's last poor farm. But she wears that research lightly, it enriches the story without overwhelming it. You feel the cold Vermont winter, the weight of poverty, the social turmoil of the era, but it never feels like a history lesson. It feels lived.
The mysterious stranger's backstory, when it unfolds, is devastating. And watching Hazel confront her own buried tragedies while fighting to save this woman, and the poor farm itself, is emotionally wrenching in the best way.

Gauffreau writes with compassion, humor, and an eye for the small details that make characters feel real. This isn't just a story about a poor farm closing. It's a story about what it means to care for others when the world tells you those people don't matter. It's about the weight of regret, the burden of shame, and the grace of being seen and valued when you feel invisible.
Perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah's The Four Winds, Kristin Harmel's The Book of Lost Names, Kim Michele Richardson's The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, and anyone who loves historical fiction that centers forgotten people and asks: Who takes care of the vulnerable when society looks away?
This is Gauffreau's second novel (after Telling Sonny), and I'm already hungry for whatever she writes next. Her ability to find the extraordinary in overlooked history is a gift.

Highly recommend for literary fiction readers, book clubs tackling social justice themes, and anyone who believes stories have the power to preserve dignity for people history tried to erase.

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

“For over 100 years, no one wanted to be sent to the Sheldon Poor Farm. By 1968, no one wanted to leave.”

-Elizabeth Gauffreau

In 1797, the Vermont Legislature passed a law requiring that “every town and place in this state shall relieve, support and maintain their own poor.” An Overseer of the Poor for Enosburg must secure town funding for those deemed eligible to stay at the Sheldon Poor Farm. For over twenty years, Dwight Dewers had served as overseer with the assistance of Enosburg Town Constable, Johnny Clough.

“Villagers gawk at the Sheriff’s car crammed full of poor people on their way to the house on the hill, never to be seen or heard from again…the poor farm…barns, sheds, fields, and pastures on the right, the poorhouse itself on the left…three stories high, and nearly as long as a row of mill houses…”.

In 1927, young Hazel’s life changed forever. Her father was institutionalized for what would now be called PTSD. Her mother, served with an eviction notice, pleaded for assistance from the Overseer for Enosburg. At the poor farm, in rapid succession, Hazel's mother and brother died. Since the State stipulated that children could stay at the farm for only up to 90 days, Hazel was hired out to a family. Fast forward to the year 1968, the farming couple running the Sheldon Poor Farm, with compassion and understanding, were Hazel and Paul Morgan.

Sheldon’s current 12 residents included:

Flossie-94 years old, fragile and wheelchair bound. A resident needing help dressing, bathing and assistance at meals.

Petey-Needing supervision while his sister recovers from a stroke. Hysterical over his missing mare but calms when his horse is housed in the farm's cow barn.

Lisa-An incorrigible runner who is confined to the house for her own safety. “She was liable to freeze to death in a snowbank trying to follow the directions of whatever little people lived inside her head.”

Emmet and Homer- Father and son, lost the family farm as victims of The Depression. Neither was able to hire out for farm work any longer.

A woman trespasser-Found in a garage, half frozen…giving no indication she knew where she was or who she was. She was brought to the farm by Dwight and Johnny. As Overseer, Dwight could only authorize placement of Enosburg town residents. Hazel was fierce in her determination to provide healing for this non-resident woman whose name was Claire. To this end, Hazel hired Claire as a housing assistant. Claire ministered to Flossie, helped with meal prep and aided an exhausted Hazel. Both Hazel and Claire were instrumental in helping the residents maintain their dignity. Where would the residents go when new Vermont laws forced the closure of the Sheldon Poor Farm?

Author Elizabeth Gauffreau discovered an article in Vermont Life Magazine about the Sheldon Poor Farm. Having grown up nearby, without any knowledge of its existence, her research led her to masterfully craft this well written read of historical fiction.

Thank you to the author for the Print ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Pete Springer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having previously read author Elizabeth Gauffreau's novel, Telling Sonny, I had high expectations for this historical fiction story that centers around life at the Sheldon Poor Farm in Vermont. Many people are familiar with the expression "going to the poor house" but may not realize such places existed. Poor farms typically housed as many as two dozen people. While they were supposed to house indigent and disabled folks down on their luck until they could find work and provide for themselves, many of the residents were mentally disabled and became permanent residents.

The novel begins in 1968 with a woman named Claire who is brought to live at the poorhouse, though the caretakers, Hazel and Paul, know next to nothing about her circumstances. Hazel primarily is in charge of the cooking, cleaning, and care of the residents, while Paul does all the farmwork. Claire is listless and hardly speaks a word upon her arrival, as if in some state of shock. Over time, through Hazel's kindness, Claire comes out of her shell and we learn her backstory and how she came to live at the poor farm. Claire is given only a short time to live there by the State overseers of the program, but since Hazel needs help, they reach an arrangement where Claire can stay on.

Throughout the novel, Hazel and Paul face hardships within their marriage and running the poor farm. When two of the mentally challenged residents set fire to the home, part of the structure is ruined. Claire leaves to try and reconcile with her husband so Hazel loses the scant help she is getting. Paul works long hours on the farm, but has nothing much in the way of moral or physical support for Hazel. Claire's husband won't take her back and returns her to the poor farm.

The author then takes us back to 1927 when Hazel was a child and readers learn how she, her brother Sam, and their mom eventually have to go live at the poorhouse. Tragedy happens again and again until Hazel becomes an orphan. Her goal is to finish school and then go out on her own and leave the life at the poorhouse behind. Right before she becomes an adult, she meets a much older Paul. What starts as a friendship quickly escalates when Paul asks her hand in marriage. Just when things are looking up for the two of them starting their lives together in their own home, another series of misfortunes leads to Hazel and Paul becoming the new caretakers of the poorhouse.

Hazel was easily the most likable character for me because of her kindness, as she tried her best to make the home a family-like atmosphere despite all the chaotic living conditions. Another wonderful character was Joey, who despite his mental disabilities, always tried to help the other residents as well as Hazel and Paul. His good heart and pleasant manner shined throughout.

I read Gauffreau's novel in three days because it was so compelling. I can heartily recommend it and easily give it five stars. The author's notes about why she decided to write this book are also quite interesting.

[Luanne Castle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth Gauffreau’s new novel, The Weight of Snow and Regret, is a tribute to the residents of the Sheldon Poor Farm in Sheldon Springs, Vermont, as well as testament to the harsh lives of society’s disadvantaged. The novel takes place in 1967-68, the last year of the tenure of the poorhouse. But the plight of the poor and culture-rocking events of that year resonate with familiarity with contemporary readers.

The first part of the story weaves in the life of Louisianian Claire and how she falls from her place in middle-class society to living in the poorhouse far from home. In this way, the reader is drawn into the novel through the perspective of this mysterious woman, then the reader is delivered into the capable hands of Hazel, a sympathetic foster child grown into a compassionate woman who now runs the home itself while her husband manages the associated farm. Through Hazel’s kindness and perspective, we meet the other residents of the poorhouse.

The place hasn’t always been run as Hazel manages it. Before her hard work, dedication, and home management skills, the neglect was extreme. Every surface was filthy, with trash strewn about. The residents’ clothing was in desperate need of laundering. In fact, Hazel believes that the men’s underwear had never been cleaned. Hazel cleans the home immaculately, creates wholesome meals with a tiny budget, and gives the residents the care and understanding that they need.

These residents range from the forgotten elderly to the mentally ill to those with intellectual disabilities. Although they respond differently to events, and their interactions with each other can be fraught, Gauffreau’s exploration of their behavior and treatment rings true. One twist is that Hazel herself lived in this poorhouse at one time. A couple of the residents from her childhood time at the shelter are still living there when Hazel takes over. This feels like a gut punch to her to think of them still living in the conditions she and her family had undergone.

Gauffreau meticulously researched the history of the home, poor farm life in the sixties and before, the blues music that spoke to Claire’s troubled and depressed soul, the national and world headlines of the time, and local history. Her painstaking implementation of her research with her compassionate feel for the characters, and her excellent storytelling senses makes this an engrossing read. I read far into the night, without being able to put down the book.

[Alex Craigie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Weight of Snow and Regret

This book re-imagines the lives of those in the Sheldon Poor Farm – the last poor farm in Vermont which closed in 1968.
The poor farm was a place for those unable to support themselves and included those with mental health problems and the destitute. The novel begins in 1968 with the arrival of Claire who has been sent to the oversubscribed poor farm in preferent to the asylum in Westbury. In the way that delicate snowflakes become overwhelming and threatening when enough of them build up, so have the seemingly insignificant issues of a mundane life taken their toll on her. Sensitive Hazel watches as Claire is given a perfunctory examination by a doctor ‘listening to a heart that wasn’t there and lungs that must have been breathing for someone else’
The other residents also have tragedy in their backgrounds Hazel, in charge of Sheldon Poor Farn with her husband Paul, does what she can to care for them and make them feel part of a family. The descriptions of this chaotic assortment of misfits, loners and emotionally challenged are realistic and sensitively written.
Hazel and Paul have been told that Sheldon is to close, but Hazel refuses to believe it. She is a beautifully written character in an impressive cast of other individuals carrying their own burdens. Paul is practical and frequently insensitive, but is struggling to manage the farm and their meagre budget. Each character became very real to me. There are some like Philo, Marcelline and Joey with an innate kindness that I found deeply touching. It is the grinding wheels of bureaucracy that upset me most, with people seen as figures to juggle simply to save trouble and money.
The writing, as always with this author, is lyrical and fresh. Claire ‘had slept a begrudging sleep of constant motion, receding horizons, and no destination’. There is a real understanding of the human condition and Ms Gauffreau shines a light on women who have no real say in their lives or futures.
The writing often shows misery in its starkest form, but there are also lovely touches of humour that made me smile.
In a piece at the end, the author states; “I believe that these characters have something to teach us about social justice and the worth of the individual.” She is to be commended for doing this so impressively.

[D. Peach · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extremely touching read, and it’s lined up to be one of my favorites so far this year. The story is a fictionalized account of the last Poor Farm in Vermont and is based on historical events researched by the author. When talking about the book with my father, he remembers the poor farms from his youth. They were places for poor people to live when they’d run out of options – mostly elderly and people with disabilities, but also children, and those temporarily down on their luck.

The story is told primarily through the point of view of Hazel, the “matron” of the poor farm who cares for the residents while her husband runs the farm. A subplot about a woman Claire weaves through the first half of the story—how her choices bring her temporarily to the poor farm while she gets back on her feet. But it’s Hazel’s account that pulls at the heartstrings and holds the story together. She’s selfless, hard-working, and compassionate, truly an angel in her determination to provide her charges with a good life and to protect their dignity as the state moves closer and closer to shutting the farm down.

The story takes place primarily in the 1960s, but has numerous glimpses back in time to Hazel’s youth and the struggles of her family, also touched by poverty, as well as the years of her relationship with husband Paul. I liked their imperfect but loving relationship, and Paul’s small acts of kindness. The residents are quirky, endearing, challenging, joyful, and dealing with heartbreaking losses and decline.

Hazel isn’t perfect, and realistically, she isn’t able to prevent the poor farm from closing. Though I knew it was coming, it was still heartbreaking to see the bureaucracy push aside these people’s lives. Ultimately, this story, for me, was about compassion and recognizing the humanity in each person. The story takes place 60 years ago, and sadly, little seems to have change, but it did make me appreciate the quiet heroes like Hazel that are still out there.

Highly recommended to readers of historical and literary fiction, books about rural America in the 60s, and inspiring and heartwarming stories in general.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book for an honest review.

[Anda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review here : Musings on The weight of snow and regret

This novel beautifully captures the weight of caring for society’s most vulnerable. Hazel’s story doesn’t shy away from showing the emotional toll of running a place like the Sheldon Poor Farm, but it also highlights the small joys, the light, and the sense of purpose that come from this work.

I appreciated that the book portrayed disabled and elderly residents in a nuanced way: they are sources of love, humor, and connection — but they can also be dangerous, and sometimes intervention is necessary to keep everyone safe. That balance felt honest and respectful.

Another theme that stood out to me was the resilience required to build and maintain a family. Hazel meets her husband when she is young, and he is already older and more experienced in the world. Their relationship is a thread of quiet strength running through the novel. We witness them face every imaginable trial — Paul being drafted into the war, enduring deep personal losses, and ultimately stepping into the daunting responsibility of running the poor farm with no prior experience. Through all of this, their love is shown in small, intimate gestures: the offering of a cup of coffee, a hand on a shoulder, a late-night hug, the simple ritual of sharing a bed and noticing when the other falls asleep. We also see them argue, confront doubt, and navigate moments of power imbalance — including Hazel’s resistance to taking the poor farm job before ultimately agreeing when Paul decides they must. This honesty is what makes their bond so compelling: it is a portrait of real marriage, not an idealized one, showing what it means to uphold vows and walk through life together, even when the path is rough.

Thematically, the book asks readers to consider our collective responsibility: How do we care for those who cannot care for themselves? How do we hold space for their dignity while protecting their safety and ours? These questions are just as relevant today as they were in the 1960s.

[Jan Sikes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book captivated me from the start. While it is a fictionalized account of the Sheldon Poor Farm in Vermont, the setting AND the characters are very real.
Most of the story is told through Hazel, who wound up being the caretaker of the poor farm, along with her husband, Paul. Hazel's story is heartbreaking from the start. The devastating losses she experienced at such a young age were enough to scar her for the rest of her life. Instead, she found a strength and resilience that made her not only capable but also compassionate. She genuinely cared about the people who ended up in their care and did her best to provide for their needs. She is a strong relatable character.
However, the character I related most to was Claire. She lived in Louisiana, and had everything she'd been told she was supposed to have—a husband who provided and didn't abuse her, a teenage daughter who loved her despite the typical age related angst. But something was missing. Her discontent grew. Sleep evaded her. Something strong pulled her. So, she sat outside after her family went to bed and listened night after night. At first she couldn't tell where the music came from, but it drew her, until powerless against it, she had to find it. A Quonset hut tucked away from the road gave her what she longed for. She hid in the shadows and listened as the music soothed her ragged soul. Then, something extraordinary happened. I'm not going to give you details, but when Lightnin' Hopkins showed up, I got a big goofy grin on my face. Maybe it's because I love the blues, or maybe it's because of the way the author depicted this character in such a way I knew it was the real him. That was the beginning of Claire's downfall that eventually landed her at the Sheldon Poor Farm in Vermont.
There is so much that happens through the pages of this book. It is slated to be one of the top reads for me for this entire year. It is so well written, well researched and well developed from the historical facts to the characters and the storyline. I highly recommend it!

[Rita Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

To discover who we are, what we are, and why we are is not a journey for the timid. Few of us are brave enough to take that journey, but for those who do untold mysteries unfold – the good, the bad, the indifferent. Such is the glorious and brave writing of Elizabeth Gauffreau.

I have just finished reading Gauffreau’s latest book THE WEIGHT OF SNOW AND REGRET, to be released in October. It is an unusual book, unlike anything I have read, and I have read much of the best from many of the great writers of our times and without question, after having read the above book, I am certain it will, in the future, find its place amongst those hallowed writers.

The novel takes us, in the main, from the early years of the 1940’s through the fifties to the sixties, with snippets of life in the late 1920’s and 30’s with in-depth descriptions of the times and the effect they had, mostly, on the disadvantaged. The beauty of Gauffreau’s tale, apart from the great story, is her gift for vivid writing that allows you to see and feel her words as though they were coming from you own head and heart. Her words haunt you, stay with you long after you come to the end. And her detailed descriptions of each place visited remains with you long after they have been visited.

While the character of Claire, a sorry person, with a husband and child, uncertain of herself and her position in life, dominates the book at the beginning, it is Hazel, the main character, a gentle woman much stronger than she realizes, who keeps the book going forward.

To be able to feel the pain, the joys, the emotional distress of each of her well described characters is a gift, indeed, of a very able, sensitive and great author.

This is a book you will not want to miss. As well, you will wish it to go on, on and on

[Marian Beaman · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daddy used to say to his three teenage children, “You’re eating us out of house and home. We might end up in the poor house.” His remark was said in jest, of course. However, in Liz Gauffrau’s novel The Weight of Snow and Regret (2025), the poor house is historic and real though many of the characters within the house are fictional.

Hazel Morgan and her husband Paul have been matron and manager at the Sheldon Poor Farm in Vermont since the 1940s. Now it is 1968 and the Farm is slated for closure; Hazel wants to ensure that she has documented the stories of the twenty destitute folks within these walls and that they are guided into their next steps. Therein lies the focus of the plot.

In this novel, author Gauffreau retells the residents’ stories with compassion as she depicts Hazel trying to face the haunting tragedies of her own past: an upbringing fraught with hurt, misplaced romantic love, and more. The grim story of the poor farm is lightened with the introduction of real characters like the musicians Lightnin' Hopkins, Bilbo Walker, and Sterling D. Weed.

Gauffreau is a recorder of history but she is also a masterful writer. Readers are treated to metaphors like this: “but the doorway was as empty as a toothless mouth.” And this: "A gentle breeze offered the sweet fragrance of magnolia blossoms, . . . but the crickets sang out of tune, and the crescent moon hung askew in the sky, too weary to hold itself in place.” They can also observe both literal and figurative references to the weight of snow in the narrative. Her themes of social justice and individual worth are woven throughout the book, a story infused with a vivid sense of time and place.

The author illuminates a dark chapter in Vermont history with inspired prose. Without reservation, I can give this novel a five-star rating.

[Donna Koros Stramella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned much about the plight of the poor in this country circa 1940-1970, and even more about my own capacity (sometimes lack of) in caring for the marginalized population. Drawing from research about poor houses and poor farms, author Elizabeth Gauffreau balances between historical accuracy and creative license in developing the residents in a specific Poor Farm.

From the early pages of The Weight of Snow and Regret, the author draws the reader into the lives of these diverse residents—who all find themselves with nowhere else to go. Among them is an intellectually challenged woman whose mother casts her out. There is a mother who constantly imagines her daughter (she actually has several) will be coming to take her home. And then there is Claire. Introduced at the start, when she finds her comfortable life is not enough. I found myself often sympathetic, sometimes angry at their life choices, some thrust upon them and some by their own decisions.

The background of the turbulent 1960s plays like a distant record against the rigid and stark life of the Poor Farm residents. Still, protagonist Hazel feels the heavy impact of the Vietnam War, first from her father and later from her husband. She is the strong, kindhearted caregiver who instinctively provides each resident with what they need, even as there is no one who returns the same to her. Later, Gauffreau unpacks Hazel’s own story. A story that certainly would have left most bitter and hopeless, but instead it opens her heart to the desperate people left in her care.

This tender and beautifully-written work emerges at a time when we are prompted to think about others in our midst who have fallen outside the social safety net.

[Priscilla Bettis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing I can write in this review will do Gauffreau’s The Weight of Snow and Regret justice. The book is just TOO good to describe.

Hazel and Paul take care of the residents at Vermont’s last poor house (based on Vermont’s real-life last poor house). It’s the mid 1900s. The poor house is an incredibly bleak place … until Hazel and Paul arrive. Hazel is the nurturing type. Paul is a man of few words but works very hard to keep up the house. Hazel falls in love with the residents (and I suspect Paul did, too, in his own way), and Hazel’s love is contagious. I came to care for all of them, even the difficult ones.

Hazel crosses paths with Claire, a respectable mom and the wife of a furniture store owner. Claire does something outrageous (and probably something all parents/spouses have thought about doing at one time or another). She occupies a good chunk of the story, and her character’s story resolution is not what I expected. It’s something akin to real life which gave me even more respect for the book.

In fact, the novel’s ending is something akin to real life. No, things are not tied up in a neat bow. But that made it resonate all that much more for me. My heart aches for some of these characters and rejoices with others, making for an incredibly meaningful read.

Plus it’s beautifully written. Gauffreau’s prose is lilting at times, striking at other times, and poetic whenever she gives the reader a breather from the characters’ emotional journey. I loved it! I actually slowed down near the end because I wanted the reading experience to last longer.

Five huge stars!