Why Belize?

by Rodney Nelsestuen

Elieen Sologoski is overwhelmed by life's a distant husband, a tyrannical father-in-law, and life on a bleak rural homestead. Seeking escape and a reset, she flees to Belize, leaving behind everything—her job, her husband, two children, and even her name.
When her in-laws arrive unexpectedly in Belize City on a cruise ship, the newly christened Lennie is forced to confront the choices she has made, and the things she has left behind; as well as what it would take for her to return home.
Meanwhile, her ex-husband James has determined to free himself from his domineering father and set course toward a destiny all his own. With his resolution comes a measure of hope—both for him and maybe even Eileen.
"Why Belize?" considers the human condition in how we assess the lives we live, the disappointments we suffer, and asks what else there may be. What possibilities are there for a new beginning, and when is the time to seize it?

202 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 10, 2025

Reviews

[Gary Nelsestuen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, this novel starts very far from Belize where Nelsestuen mines his background of growing up on a small farm in the Midwest and his career in the farm banking business to create a novel based on an all-too-common situation of intergenerational farm life where the second generation, immersed in the work that they love on this Michigan family farm, are oblivious to the reality that they are not partners in the enterprise and own nothing; they have spent their best years in a semi-feudal state. The novel deals with the messy ways that the various individuals deal with this truth that they discover in middle age and how one can never truly escape a past life. Along the way, inter-personal family dynamics, a troubled in-law status and even small-town banking add to the complexity of this tale.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the beautiful style of writing that made this book easy to just glide through the pages. The wonderful character descriptions and development inserted me directly into their lives. All the characters were assessing their lives, their disappointments and asking themselves what else is there for their life. This was an intergenerational tale that kept me guessing about the decisions for the characters futures. When I finished reading this book I felt like I was still in the story and these characters were living on in my mind. Beautiful writing and a great story!!