THE RIVER By STARLIGHT by Ellen Notbohm – Historical Fiction, Family Fiction, Homestead Era

Set in the early twentieth century, The River by Starlight by Ellen Notbohm follows Annie (Analiese) Rushton, a woman struggling against her lot in life.

After a messy divorce leaves her separated from her only child, Annie returns home to her emotionally unavailable and dying mother. A betrayal of Annie’s own mind destroyed her marriage and took away any hope of seeing her daughter again. When she finds a letter from her oldest brother hidden in a drawer by her mother, she decides to join him on his homestead in Montana. Once settled into her new life, she soon forms a whirlwind romance with local business owner Adam Fielding.

After they marry, Annie wants nothing more than another child, despite the certain risk of her postpartum psychosis returning.

A string of losses and sickness keeps the passionate couple from their dream of a family until the stress drives them apart. After a jarring separation, Annie gives birth to and loses custody of a little girl she names Nora. Once Annie becomes a member of society again, she works hard to get Nora back from the orphanage and builds a life where they can be together.

The River by Starlight is historical fiction at its finest. Parenthood and mental health frame this contrast of love and loss.  Throughout the story, Annie is asked how she can just forget the past and move on so easily. The reality is that she does not forget, she must move on to survive. The pain of the past is a character of its own in the story. Its presence and weight are held between Annie, those she loves, and those who love her. Annie struggles to swim her way through troubled waters in a world that believes it would be better off if she drowned. She embodies strength against all odds and the power of love that never dies.

The River by Starlight by Ellen Notbohm won First Place in the 2018 CIBA Goethe Awards for Post-1750s Historical Fiction.