Sea Level

by Nancy Hayes Kilgore

In 1980, Brigid Peterson becomes the first woman minister of a church in an isolated town on the coast of Virginia. But this is a time of upheaval around the roles of women, and soon some of her parishioners become hostile toward her. When Mary Bradley, an artist who believes in the goddess, returns to her hometown and falls in love with an elusive carpenter, Brigid finds in her a kindred spirit. But when the church divides into bitter conflict over Brigid, and Mary is confronted with a bitter truth about her lover, they are both knocked off balance and have to dive deeper into their own spiritual lives to find a way through.

Sea Level, set in the mystical landscape of the Delmarva Peninsula, is a story about small town life and the passions that erupt when differing beliefs collide.

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 26, 2011

About the author

Nancy Hayes Kilgore is the author of four novels, PENNSYLVANIA LOVE SONG (coming in 2025), BITTER MAGIC (Milford House, 2021,) WILD MOUNTAIN (Green Writers Press, 2017) and SEA LEVEL (RCWMS, 2011.) Awards include the Vermont Writers Prize, a Book of the Year through ForeWord Reviews, and a Pushcart Prize nomination.

Nancy Kilgore's background as an ordained minister and pastoral counselor underly her interests in spirituality and psychology, and, with her love of nature and poetry, coalesce in her fiction writing. She leads workshops and retreats integrating spirituality and creative writing.

Reviews

[Susan Ashcraft · Rating 4 out of 5]

If your looking for an absorbing read this could be the one for you. The characters are well conceived and believable. The story flowed like good wine!

[Lynnette Dobberpuhl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sea Level by Nancy Kilgore is set in Sand Hill, Virginia, a small town on a sand bar between Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. It is here in 1980 that Brigid Peterson takes the pulpit of the Methodist Church. At nearly the same time Mary Bradley, an artist who had fled the stifling community for New York, returns to the town of her birth. Both women seek a fresh start and a sense of wholeness and wittingly or not, are on a journey to better understand the nature of God. Their journeys intertwine with each other and with the townspeople’s jealously guarded traditions and history.

I grew up in a small Midwest town in the 70’s and 80’s, and our Methodist Church was the first church I’d heard of to be appointed a woman minister. I remember being both highly enthusiastic that a woman could be a minister and bemused by her unusual ideas and ways. I had no idea when I opened the cover of the book that Sea Level would be the story of my own church and community, but it very nearly was. Kilgore lets the reader inside the surprisingly intense drama of church and small town politics, and the upheaval caused and experienced by women—who are also wives and mothers—taking church leadership for the first time.

Issues of feminism, racial barriers, substance abuse and friendship keep the story line from being one note. Conflict includes small-scale but individually devastating religious wars and power plays, as well as family dynamics and interpersonal entanglements. Kilgore’s depiction of both the frailty and humanity of each character (clergy or layperson,) keeps each of them from falling into the paradigm of either a monster or a hero. I confess that I am still figuring out how one part of the story line, relating to the cemetery, fits in with the whole. The ending is as true to real life as most of Kilgore’s novel, so don’t expect a tidy ending, but if you are seeking a tale on how to weather devastating metaphorical storms, and perhaps an eye-opening account of spirituality and the role of women in pastoral ministry, I recommend this book. I highly recommend it for church book clubs in particular, as I think most worship communities could see a bit of their own reflection within, even today. Even readers who eschew mainstream religious tradition will find a gripping story and some sympathy for the struggle to find God in a meaningful and deeply personal way.

Sea Level was nominated for the Pushcart Prize and is a print on demand book available by order from your local bookstore or through Amazon.com. Read an excerpt and learn more about Kilgore on her website: http://www.nancykilgore.com/Sea-Level...

For more on my take of this book, visit my Wordtabulous blog: http://wp.me/p1yCQ6-73

[April Ossmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

SEA LEVEL turns out to be a page turner of a different kind--not for mystery or mayhem, but for its very real characters, absorbing story, and spiritual explorations and openness. I became quite fond of both main characters, so much so that I wanted to shake better sense into both of them--and the small town characters whose actions and attitudes affected them. When an author elicits that level of investment from me, and leaves me wanting more--wondering what happens to Brigid and Mary next--I know I've read a book I'll want to re-read.

[Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sea Level by Nancy Kilgore is a lovely and lyrical read. She writes of a young, female minister sent to serve a congregation in a remote village on the Virginia coast. The members of the congregation do not all welcome her with open arms. Almost anyone who lives in a small, close-knit community and belongs to a congregation will recognize the issues. For Brigid Petersen, it is the Cemetery Committee.

Running in tandem with Brigid's attempt to win over the hearts of the congregation is Mary Bradley's story. Mary, and artist, is returning to Sand Hill after living in New York City for many years. The transition is not as smooth or easy as she might have hoped. In the end, both women learn something about themselves, and about the benefits (and challenges) of small-town living.

[Barbara Clemons]

I received the book Saturday, I am so excited, will read within the next 2 weeks and post my review of book.

[Nancy Kilgore · Rating 5 out of 5]

SEA LEVEL:

Book of the Year ForeWord Reviews

Nominated for the Pushcart Prize

See a review of Sea Level at:
http://www.hercircleezine.com/2011/09...

[Maysam · Rating 3 out of 5]

can't wait to read it!!!!

[Molly Montgomery · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book and I did not want it to end. The movie in my head is still playing. Thanks to the author ! Molly