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The Uneven Road: Book Two of First Light
The remote peninsula of Innisfree on Chappaquiddick Island carries the weight of dreams and loss and salvation for Josiah Monroe, whose life has been molded by its wildness and isolation. When his parents make the painful decision to sell Innisfree—the symbol of his Wampanoag heritage and identity—Josiah abandons the island, seeking solace in a wider, more dangerous world. The Vietnam War, the upheaval of the Sixties and the rejection of his roots lead him on a perilous journey that takes him far from Chappaquiddick both physically and emotionally.
The loss of Innisfree catapults the entire family into a spiral of disconnection. Mae and Tobias struggle not only with Josiah’s disappearance and silence but also with the debilitating polio suffered by his sister, Izzy, as the new owner of Innisfree becomes a force driving them apart. Ultimately, it is the power and magic of the island itself and the bonds of family that call them back to one another.
The loss of Innisfree catapults the entire family into a spiral of disconnection. Mae and Tobias struggle not only with Josiah’s disappearance and silence but also with the debilitating polio suffered by his sister, Izzy, as the new owner of Innisfree becomes a force driving them apart. Ultimately, it is the power and magic of the island itself and the bonds of family that call them back to one another.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 29, 2016
8 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Linda Cardillo
29 books45 followersLINDA CARDILLO is an award-winning author of historical fiction and historical romance. She writes about the old country and the new, the tangle and embrace of family, and finding courage in the midst of loss.
From the time she was in high school, Linda held in her heart the dream of writing the Great American Novel. But she was also brought up to know that she had to be “practical” and make a living. After graduating from college, she found a job as a secretary at a venerable Boston publishing house (barely passing the typing test). Within a year she had moved into an editorial position for college textbooks in the sciences and social sciences. It still wasn’t the Great American Novel, but she got to immerse herself in American intellectual and social history.
After earning her MBA from Harvard Business School—where she wrote comedy for the annual student musical and performed in a platinum blonde wig while seven months pregnant—she got divorced and gave birth. She then became circulation manager for the launch of Inc. magazine and got a crash course in magazine marketing. Unfortunately, she also crashed head-on into her boss and got fired a year after the magazine’s successful start.
Around this time she got an invitation to her tenth college reunion, signed up to attend and fell in love with a man she hadn’t seen since freshman year. On an excursion to a zoo, her son got carsick and threw up. This wonderful man calmly got him out of the car, cleaned him up and took him for a walk in the fresh air, and she knew she had a keeper.
Linda and the keeper moved to Germany for a few years with their children. While living in Europe, she received an unexpected gift of love letters that became the seeds for her first novel, Dancing on Sunday Afternoons.
Linda has been married for over forty years to the keeper, a brilliant scientist and sailor, and is the mother of three children of whom she is enormously proud. She loves to cook and is happiest when the twelve chairs around her dining room table are filled with people enjoying her food. She speaks four languages, some better than others. She tries to play the piano every night—sometimes by herself and sometimes in an improvisational duet with her younger son. She does The New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle in ink, a practice she learned from her mother. From her mother she also absorbed a love of opera, especially those of Puccini and Verdi, whose music filled her home when she was a child. She once climbed Mt. Kenya and has very curly hair. Linda and the keeper live in Western Massachusetts.
From the time she was in high school, Linda held in her heart the dream of writing the Great American Novel. But she was also brought up to know that she had to be “practical” and make a living. After graduating from college, she found a job as a secretary at a venerable Boston publishing house (barely passing the typing test). Within a year she had moved into an editorial position for college textbooks in the sciences and social sciences. It still wasn’t the Great American Novel, but she got to immerse herself in American intellectual and social history.
After earning her MBA from Harvard Business School—where she wrote comedy for the annual student musical and performed in a platinum blonde wig while seven months pregnant—she got divorced and gave birth. She then became circulation manager for the launch of Inc. magazine and got a crash course in magazine marketing. Unfortunately, she also crashed head-on into her boss and got fired a year after the magazine’s successful start.
Around this time she got an invitation to her tenth college reunion, signed up to attend and fell in love with a man she hadn’t seen since freshman year. On an excursion to a zoo, her son got carsick and threw up. This wonderful man calmly got him out of the car, cleaned him up and took him for a walk in the fresh air, and she knew she had a keeper.
Linda and the keeper moved to Germany for a few years with their children. While living in Europe, she received an unexpected gift of love letters that became the seeds for her first novel, Dancing on Sunday Afternoons.
Linda has been married for over forty years to the keeper, a brilliant scientist and sailor, and is the mother of three children of whom she is enormously proud. She loves to cook and is happiest when the twelve chairs around her dining room table are filled with people enjoying her food. She speaks four languages, some better than others. She tries to play the piano every night—sometimes by herself and sometimes in an improvisational duet with her younger son. She does The New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle in ink, a practice she learned from her mother. From her mother she also absorbed a love of opera, especially those of Puccini and Verdi, whose music filled her home when she was a child. She once climbed Mt. Kenya and has very curly hair. Linda and the keeper live in Western Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 12, 2016
I received this book in exchange for an honest review. The family story basically revolves around the teenage son trying to find himself; he feels he doesn't belong because his father is Indian, and his mother is not. He leaves home without warning, stays with his uncle whom he has never met, then joins the Army as a medic in Viet Nam. His younger sister has contracted polio, and is devastated when he leaves. His mother has been estranged from her family since one of her sisters tried to take him from her at age four. It is a sad & wonderful story of choices, overcoming life's travails and reconciliation.
June 5, 2016
I received this book in exchange for a review.
I read the first in the series "The Boat House Cafe" which was a wonderful read about a family searching for their place in the world.
The second "The Uneven Road" was even better. It focuses on the son, who like most of our sons, wants to find his own way in the world. He is torn between two worlds. His family and their secluded life on Chappy or the mainland filled with possibilities. The mother struggles with her choices and I have to say, I'm not sure I agree with her choices but I do understand them.
It's a great read.
I read the first in the series "The Boat House Cafe" which was a wonderful read about a family searching for their place in the world.
The second "The Uneven Road" was even better. It focuses on the son, who like most of our sons, wants to find his own way in the world. He is torn between two worlds. His family and their secluded life on Chappy or the mainland filled with possibilities. The mother struggles with her choices and I have to say, I'm not sure I agree with her choices but I do understand them.
It's a great read.
March 21, 2018
Excellent!!
April 14, 2017
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway. It is a continuation of First Light and the story was enjoyable and a pleasant read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews