Virginia Tolles

Interests

I am enjoying the people around me, including friends from high school and college with whom I have been reconnecting over the past two years. Now, that's a real joy! In addition, I am making new friends, other writers, who also are running the marathon. It is an encouraging experience.

Books

Tales Along the Way Home: A Story of Growing Faith (May 2006)
ISBN 1-4241-2740-8

Tales Along the Way Home is on the New Book List at the Wilson County, North Carolina, Public Library (for the week of January 23-31, 2007)

Meet Kristen Lawrence, a professional woman who must see herself and her colleagues nearly 3,000 miles home in the wake of the terrorist attacks even while she helps her mother save the family business in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

Fiercely competitive colleagues—Kristen, Elena, Frank, Bier, and Don—have worked together for 15 years, yet they hardly know each other and probably trust each other less. Together for a conference in Los Angeles, they aren’t prepared for the disastrous event of 9/11 that is about to shake their self-reliance to the core. For the first time, they must depend on each other as they set out on a long and tiring drive home to their families nearly 3,000 miles away, in Virginia. Along the way, they wrestle with old demons and new ones as, little by little, they grow in ways they never imagined they ever could or would and develop a newfound respect for each other.

The loner, curmudgeon, and reformed alcoholic—Frank—needs to remarry and make a new life for himself, but the pain of losing his first wife and child is getting in the way. Even as he struggles to free himself from the past, he learns that he will be his parents’ caregiver as soon as he can get back East to meet their train. The feminist—Kristen—is routed from the security of her tenured professorship and thrust into an unexpected and unwanted leadership role when her brothers abdicate their responsibility to the family business to pursue their own interests. The Vietnamese refugee—Diana, who joins the trip in Albuquerque—fears that she has lost her husband in the Twin Towers and will have to start her life all over—yet again. The young assistant professor—Elena—must find the time to marry the man she loves even as she works to make her niche in a department that hasn’t taken on a new member in twelve years. The old guard—Bier and Don—have their challenges, as well; both are desperately needed at home—now!

This historical novel embraces the people, culture, history, and scenic beauty that are America. Learn about Route 66, how the railroads furthered the westward expansion, and even how an old theater pulled a community together. With each passing mile, the travelers discover America, which at every point and in its own way, is both breathtaking and awe-inspiring. You will find tidbits of Americana that don’t make their way into history books – but should.