The Salt and Light Express

by Lee Ann Walling, Maria Marquis (Narrator)

When Chris Lawler is left adrift by the sudden loss of her partner, she heads west on a cross-country road trip—but no GPS can navigate her loneliness or the guilt over her part in Sally’s accident.

Struggling to find belonging among Utah’s red rocks and in the Texas Hill Country, she meets two remarkably different people who begin to kindle her healing. She is smitten by one of them, but past rejection renders her insecure and awkward. Adding to her isolation, her judgmental kin in Texas rebuff her attempts to reconcile.

A violent reckoning at the small town library where her family lives finally forces Chris to confront the roadblocks that prevent her from loving and being loved. At its heart, The Salt and Light Express explores and celebrates the depths of friendship between two older women, both rebounding from personal tragedies and wondering if their joy is in the rearview mirror.

Audible Audio

Published October 14, 2025

About the author

Lee Ann Walling was born in Pittsburgh and raised in the suburbs of Dallas. She entered the University of Texas as a journalism major the same month Richard Nixon resigned, and her dream of becoming a writer was quickly redirected by the demands of daily deadlines. Her first job out of college was reporting and anchoring the noon news at a CBS television station in Odessa, Texas.

After thirteen years as a journalist in Texas and Delaware, she was hired to manage the statewide campaign of Ruth Ann Minner—a high school dropout with an inspiring story who would go on to become Delaware’s first female governor. Lee Ann served as her chief of staff and helped shape her land-use and environmental policies.

Her own journey is one of continual reinvention. Over the years, she earned an MBA in Finance, became a nationally credentialed land-use planner, earned certification as a graphic and web designer, and launched two businesses after leaving state government. In 2024, she fulfilled a lifelong dream by earning a Master of Fine Arts from Drexel University in Philadelphia—finally writing her first novel.

She lives in southern Delaware with her spouse, Sue, and plays keyboards in a praise band every Sunday in Rehoboth Beach.

Reviews

[Judith Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Salt and Light Express is an amazing first novel by the author. The story line follows the main character on her search for herself and meaning following the death of her partner. Incredibly relevant to the mood of today the character development feels deeply personal. The descriptive writing takes you to the story locations. Once I started this novel it was difficult to put down as it progressed towards a conclusion. A conclusion which might have had several different endings. Well done! Highly recommend.

[Michael H. McGrath · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Book - REALLY?

Walling‘s first book is a success on so many levels. Right at the start I was taken in by her very insightful scenes in an RV campground. I’ve spent many days camping and in RVs and I was struck immediately by the craft of her writing that put you right out there in the campground with all the interesting people. The remainder of this first novel takes you into a rediscovery of family connections, and the Texas Hill country. Throughout there is a thread that examines spirituality, female love and conventional Christianity. The author never sidesteps considering the sorts of divisions that now seem to infest our nation. All in all a most worthy effort for an initial novel. Like me, I think you will want to see more from this author.

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fellow Drexel MFA student, I agreed to be the alpha reader, a first, non-faculty reader of Lee Ann Walling’s lovely and moving novel, The Salt and Light Express. Normally while reading a piece for someone, I start in “track changes,” but as I started my reading, I felt distracted having to pause and comment, I and wanted a print version in my hands with only a pencil for making small notes. Then I dropped the pencil and just committed to reading it twice so that I could just turn the pages as quickly as I read. And I could not stop turning the pages.

Chris Lawler, the protagonist, is grieving and suffering agonizing guilt, but from her strong voice and ample life experience, we sense she is going somewhere literally and figuratively. We first meet Chris in Moab, Utah, at the door of her small Winnebago, eponymously named The Salt and Light Express. The snarky, and at times belligerent Chris, had recently headed west, seeking peace and solace. Ultimately, Chris wrestles with her demons and angels, finding purpose in giving of herself to serve a community and learning that she is indeed worth the love she yearns for.

I loved being immersed in an American road-trip novel again, as I had in my youth, but with the wisdom that comes maturity. As pages turn across the high deserts and into the Texas hill country, the prose is immersive and sensory: a sonata composed on a windy hill, a reverie of sultry heat and arid dryness, the scent of the Guadeloupe River and dust over Bryce Canyon. The novel has all the elements that pull the reader into a grand journey and yet, at its center is the vulnerability and humanity of a woman in pain, yearning to connect.

Walling’s command of the interior voice energizes the story, and Chris’s compassionate goodness and endearing foibles are illuminated in her self-examinations. Emotions run the gamut from self-doubt to hope to the satisfaction of letting go. Walling has achieved a lovely work of Women’s, LBGQT+, or Book-Club fiction that uplifts mature readers and serves as a didactic for all generations. We do not know what life-shifting events might come along to teach us at any time or at any age.

[Dalyn Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Salt and Light Express is a quietly powerful exploration of grief, displacement, and the courage it takes to begin again. Lee Ann Walling crafts Chris Lawler’s journey with sensitivity and restraint, allowing the emotional weight of loss to unfold naturally rather than theatrically. The cross-country road trip becomes more than a change of scenery it is a mirror reflecting Chris’s loneliness, guilt, and tentative hope as she searches for belonging in unfamiliar landscapes.

One of the novel’s greatest strengths lies in its portrayal of connection later in life. The friendship between two older women, both carrying deep personal wounds, is rendered with honesty and warmth. Their bond feels earned, grounded in shared vulnerability rather than convenience. The narrative does not rush healing or romance; instead, it honors emotional hesitation, insecurity, and the scars left by rejection.

The story’s climax at the small-town library is both unsettling and clarifying, forcing Chris to confront the internal barriers that have kept her from fully loving and being loved. At its heart, The Salt and Light Express is a compassionate meditation on resilience, chosen family, and the possibility of joy beyond loss. It is a novel that stays with the reader not because it shouts, but because it understands.

[Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Salt and Light Express is one of those stories that moves gently but stays with you long after the last page. Chris’s grief is handled with honesty, never dramatized, and her cross-country journey becomes a slow unfolding of what it really means to heal, forgive, and let people in again. The settings from Utah’s striking landscapes to the Texas Hill Country almost feel like companions on her path. And the two people she meets along the way add depth in a way that feels natural, not forced. Their presence nudges Chris toward rediscovering connection, even when her past insecurities make that feel risky. One of the standout elements of this book is its portrayal of friendship between older women. It’s heartfelt, refreshing, and layered with real-life tenderness. Even the tension with Chris’s family is written with nuance, showing how old wounds can linger but also how courage can reshape them. The final turning point at the small-town library feels earned a moment that ties the emotional threads together and shows Chris choosing growth over guilt.
This book isn’t loud; it’s steady, honest, and quietly powerful. If you enjoy character-driven stories about resilience, belonging, and the unexpected bonds that steer us back to ourselves, this one is worth reading.

[Kady Ambrose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautifully written novel is rich and thought provoking. The 65-year-old lead character, Chris, is a liberal lesbian struggling to rebuild her life after her wife’s traumatic death. She takes to the road in an RV on what turns out to be a journey of healing and growth that leads through her family and past in conservative Texas Hill Country. Chris is a complex and sympathetic character whose personal development feels earned and authentic. The secondary characters are equally well crafted, each pushing and pulling Chris along her overdue maturation in an organic way. Walling’s evocative prose transports you to Chris’s world, and the explorations of religion, spirituality, human connection, and the power of love linger long after the last page is turned. Highly recommend, especially for book clubs and discussion groups.

Thanks to the publisher for the complimentary review copy. This is my voluntary and unbiased review.

[H.A. Callum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lee Ann Walling’s The Salt and Light Express is a rare novel living in the space where memory and loss do their quiet work. The novel’s brave prose positions itself against the solitude of the American West, a tolling reminder of our insignificance and the temporal nature of our existence. Walling gives us the tension of stillness countered by the tenderness of strangers. It’s a wise, openhearted debut that takes Americana to new extremes and turns the classic road trip on its head. Walling captures the rhythm of the road and lets it speak to the soul of who we are as individuals and a people. The Salt and Light Express is a must read for anyone standing at life’s many crossroads, foot on the pedal, waving off what’s holding them back in the rearview mirror.

[Peggy A · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a book leaves you wondering about what happens next because you have become invested in the characters, you know it's an important read! How does the preacher survive in this "conservative" town? What lies ahead for Chris and her family? How does the town change because of the librarian's openness to debate and truth? It's a good read!

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This highly engaging story follows a bereaved woman on a road trip. Her journey to her birthplace and the terrific characters she meets on her way made this reader hopeful that shared values can heal the nation's red/blue divide.

[Regina Guarino · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought-provoking book asking what the meaning is of prayer, family, connection, truth. We take a journey along with our protagonist and share in the peaceful answers and questions she receives by journeys end. A love story for self, family, community and one special other. Nice.

[Jill Cottrill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t care for

[Michael Doane · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Salt and Light Express is a tender, emotionally resonant novel about grief, aging, and the fragile courage it takes to open oneself to love again. Lee Ann Walling writes with restraint and empathy, allowing Chris Lawler’s sorrow and self doubt to unfold gradually as she moves across the American landscape, carrying both loss and longing with her.

What makes this story especially compelling is its focus on later-in-life friendship and connection. The bond that develops between two older women each marked by private grief feels rare and deeply authentic, offering a refreshing counterpoint to narratives that too often overlook these relationships. The novel’s emotional stakes are quiet but profound, rooted in loneliness, regret, and the hope that joy may not be behind us after all.

The audiobook narration by Maria Marquis enhances the story’s intimacy, capturing Chris’s vulnerability with warmth and clarity. Her performance deepens the emotional texture of the novel, making the listening experience immersive and quietly moving.

The Salt and Light Express is a compassionate exploration of healing, chosen family, and the bravery required to love again after loss. It will resonate strongly with readers who appreciate character-driven literary fiction that honors both pain and possibility.