Small Town & Rural

“The deeper in the wilderness I am, the higher in elevation I am, the happier I am. It is an unforgiving landscape and so deeply humbling. There’s a quote from the Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss that I come back to over and over, and it’s the entire reason I climb big mountains. He says, ‘The smaller we come to feel ourselves compared with the mountain, the nearer we come to participating in its greatness.'” ―Shelley Read, interview, Alta

What booksellers are saying about Go As a River

• This book is beautifully written and will stay with you for a very long time. This is the book that you pass on to your mother, your daughter, your best friend and make them promise to read it. I think we will be talking about this book for all of 2023 and after.
    ―Mary Patterson from The Little Bookshop in Midlothian, VA | Buy from The Little Bookshop
  
  
• Phenomenal. As perfect as a homegrown, juicy, sweet peach. I will carry this story with me for many, many, many days to come.
    ―Jill Naylor from Novel in Memphis, TN | Buy from Novel.
  
  
• With lush, atmospheric prose, Go As a River is about seventeen year old Victoria Nash who lives on a peach orchard in 1940’s rural Colorado. The only female at home, she is the one who keeps the household running with daily chores and working her family’s land. Her life changes when she meets the mysterious and gentle Wilson Moon, an indigenous boy passing through town. A love story that starts in innocence is shattered by bigotry. Go As a River is about surviving after loss, our connection to the natural world around us, quiet and enduring friendships, and lasting love. This is my kind of historical fiction, and I can’t wait to share this with readers at Main Street Books!
    ―Jessica Nock from Main Street Books in Davidson, NC | Buy from Main Street Books
  

About Shelley Read

Shelley Read is a fifth generation Coloradoan who lives with her family in the Elk Mountains of the Western Slope. She was a Senior Lecturer at Western Colorado University for nearly three decades, where she taught writing, literature, environmental studies, and Honors, and was a founder of the Environment & Sustainability major and a support program for first-generation and at-risk students. Shelley holds degrees in writing and literary studies from the University of Denver and Temple University’s Graduate Program in Creative Writing. She is a regular contributor to Crested Butte Magazine and Gunnison Valley Journal, and has written for the Denver Post and a variety of publications.