Love Lost, Love Found

About the Book

The story begins with a winter storm sweeping across a summer resort town in New Jersey. Maggie, a recent widow, is alone with her grief in a rented cottage on the shore. As the wind howls and blusters around her little red house, she opens her door to a stranger whose car has broken down on a nearby road. He explains that he saw her single light burning on the deserted shore and appeals to her for help and shelter from the storm.

Maggie and Walt quickly become friends . Their advanced age and wisdom afford them the luxury of knowing that life is short so they indulge each day to its fullest. Their friendship is symbolized by this single light that brought them together and rescued each of them from a life filled by loneliness and despair.

Maggie learns that Walt is not a widower, but unlike herself has a wife, Mary, who has been hospitalized with Alzheimer’s disease and a fatal heart condition for more than a year. Walt is despondent over his conflicting emotions. His love for Mary is strong, but she has been unresponsive for years because of her illness. Walt feels he needs to go on with his life but feels guilty for doing so.

About the Author

Beverly Rushin, a native of central New York, traces her ancestry to the Mohawk Valley at the time of the American Revolution. Beverly received her M.S. in Library Science from Syracuse University. Her lifetime passion with books and reading led her to a creative writing group in the city of Port St. Lucie, Florida where she now lives. Since then Beverly, a prolific story teller, has written eleven books. This is the third with co-author Thomas Shelton. She has traveled extensively and enjoys seeing far places and meeting new people.. She has also been an avid photographer, golfer, and patron of the arts, who has been actively involved in community planning. Thomas Shelton’s ancestors were Florida natives whose forebears also go back to the American Revolution. After elementary school in Fort Pierce, Florida he graduated from high school in Miami. Upon release from military service he attended Duke University, Georgetown, and Washington College of Law. He served as an intelligence officer during the Korean and Vietnam Wars and retired as a Colonel. Before retiring to Florida from Ohio he worked as an editor and research analyst for the Library of Congress and the Air Force. Formerly, a mediator for the Supreme Court of Florida and a volunteer for the local WQCS radio station, he enjoys singing and plays several musical instruments. Among his credits, a book of poems entitled Zest of Life.