Rewriting Marguerite

by JacLynn Herron

Rewriting Marguerite is a book of fiction set in Minnesota and Maui .
In this debut novel, JacLynn Herron introduces Marguerite, otherwise known as MJ Burdick, an author of whodunits. This time, instead of guiding her characters through a mystery, MJ must solve her own, since the victim is her creative soul and the culprit, grief.

In 2015, Marguerite, an octogenarian known by her readers and friends as MJ Burdick, encounters more than writer's block when she attempts to write her latest Minnesota-based mystery. A freakish bike accident, the latest defining moment, has claimed not only the life of her husband, Harry, but also her creative spirit. Supported from afar by a quirky writing group, she ventures alone to the tropical island of Maui to retap her creative source. Using a seventy-five-year-old gift from her mother to revisit her past, MJ attempts to revive her writer's soul by reflecting on the joys, strengths, sorrows, and shadows of her Minnesota upbringing. Her journey inward to reclaim self-acceptance and resiliency is nurtured by the Sato family local Maui residents whose elder is a World War II Nisei veteran with a Minnesota connection.

360 pages, Paperback

Published November 30, 2021

About the author

JacLynn Herron, a Minnesota author, not only lost her mother to dementia, but also witnessed the strengths and flaws of the eldercare system that was responsible for her mother’s care. Believing in the power of story, she crafted her memoir, SINGING SOLO: IN SEARCH OF A VOICE FOR MOM, as a cautionary tale about the realities of nursing home care. Now she is committed to sharing that story with readers and audiences at a variety of places: bookstores, libraries, book groups, dementia conferences, and elder groups. The book prompts discussion of the question: How can we (as individuals, families and society) promote quality-of-life until the very end of life?

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a quiet read by a P.E.O. author about a woman who finds herself a widow at 80 years old. She is an author of mysteries and is now stuck in grief and thus also suffering from writer's block. She has a group of friends, the Write Women, all of whom are writers also, who support her. One of these women offers her condo on Maui for Marguerite to visit around the time of Marguerite's husband's death. A very satisfying read about going on in spite of aging and finding oneself "alone."

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy reading books by local authors that reference familiar places. I lived on Silver Lake Road just like Marguerite. This author has an easy writing style. I enjoyed getting to know Marguerite, the protagonist, as well as some of the minor characters. There is a sprinkling of history and easily believable low-key adventure. Although grief is a constant underlying theme, it doesn't dominate.

[Jean Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, thought provoking