A NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
A June 2023 Indie Next Pick

From debut author Shannon Bowring comes a novel of small town America that Pulitzer-winner Richard Russo calls, “measured, wise, and beautiful”.

It’s 1990, and the lives of the inhabitants of Dalton, Maine play on.

Rose goes to work at the diner every day, her bruises hidden from both the customers and her two young boys. At a table she waits, Dr. Richard Haskell looks back on the one choice that’s charted his entire life, before his thoughts wander back to his wife, Trudy, and her best friend.

Trudy and Bev have been friends for longer than they can count, and something more than lovers to each other for some time now—a fact both accepted and ignored by their husbands. Across town, new mother Bridget lives with her high school sweetheart Nate, and is struggling with postpartum after a traumatic birth. And nearer still is teenager Greg, trying to define the complicated feelings he has about himself and his two close friends.

In most small towns, the private is also public. When one of Dalton’s own makes an unthinkable decision, the community is left reeling. In the aftermath, their problems, both small and large, reveal a deeper understanding of the lives of their neighbors, and remind us that no one is exactly who you think they are.

The Road to Dalton offers valuable understandings of what it means to be alive in the world—of pain and joy, conflict and love, and the endurance that comes from living.

Shannon Bowring
Shannon Bowring has been nominated for a Pushcart and a Best of the Net, and was recently selected in Best Small Fictions. She holds an MFA from University of Southern Maine Stonecoast and currently resides in Maine. The Road to Dalton is her first novel.

• Jul 25 2024
  

  “Tensions, passions run high, but all is solidly based on the importance of communication and love.”

  
  — Lavender
• Jan 8 2024
  “[A] careful, comprehensive portrait.”
  — The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide
• Oct 18 2023
  

  “An underrated gem.”
  — Sarah's Bookshelves Live Podcast

• Oct 15 2023
  “Achingly real.”
  — Portland Press Herald
• May 31 2023
  “Compassionate...poignant.”
  — Publishers Weekly
• Apr 1 2023
  “An impressive debut.”
  — Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)